Miracle on the hudson event. Miracle on the Hudson. The true story of the crew. How local residents reacted to the crash

15:31 EST (20:31 UTC)

Emergency landing on the water

Engine surge due to collision with a flock of Canadian geese

Hudson River, New York, USA

40 ° 46′10 ″ s. NS. 74 ° 00'17 ″ W d. / 40.769498 ° N NS. 74.004636 ° W d. / 40.769498; -74.004636 (G) (O) Coordinates: 40 ° 46′10 ″ s. NS. 74 ° 00'17 ″ W d. / 40.769498 ° N NS. 74.004636 ° W d. / 40.769498; -74.004636 (G) (O)

Airbus A320-214 of US Airways, identical to the one that splashed down on the Hudson

La Guardia, New York, USA

Charlotte Douglas, North Carolina, USA

Seattle / Tacoma, Seattle, USA

Aviation incident on January 15, 2009. Airbus A320-214 of US Airways, flying AWE 1549 (callsign - Cactus 1549) on the route New York-North Carolina-Seattle, and it carried 150 passengers and 5 crew members. 90 seconds after takeoff, the airliner collided with a flock of Canadian geese and both engines failed. The crew safely landed the plane on the water of the Hudson River in New York. All 155 people on board survived, 5 people were seriously injured (one flight attendant suffered the most) and 78 were minor.

In total, 11 cases of controlled forced landings passenger airliners on the water. This case is the fourth, without casualties.

• 1 Airplane
• 2 Crew
• 3 Chronology of events
• 4 Damage to the aircraft
• 5 Investigation
• 6 Consequences
• 7 The further fate of the aircraft
• 8 Cultural aspects
• 9 See also
• 10 Notes
• 11 References

Airplane

Airbus A320-214 ( registration number N106US, serial 1044) released in 1999. The first flight was made on June 15, 1999 under test w / n F-WWII. On August 2 of the same year, it was transferred to US Airways and received tail number N106US. in the early 2000s, he flew for subsidiary airline US Airways - US Airways Shuttle. Powered by two CFM International 56-5B4 / P engines. On the day of the incident, he completed 16299 take-off-landing cycles and flew 25241 hours.

Crew

• The aircraft commander is 57-year-old Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. A very experienced pilot, a former military pilot who piloted the F-4 Phantom II from March 1973 to July 1980. After retirement, he continued flying as a pilot with Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) and US Airways. He is an expert in the field of flight safety and has a certificate for piloting gliders. Flew 19663 hours, 4765 of them on Airbus A320.
• The co-pilot is 49-year-old Jeff Skiles. A very experienced pilot, with US Airways for 23 years. Flew 15643 hours. This was only his second flight on the Airbus A320. During the planning of the aircraft, he brought all its systems and mechanisms into a mode that ensures the tightness of the airframe of the aircraft when landing on the water and the subsequent long stay afloat.

Three flight attendants worked in the aircraft cabin:

• Sheila Dail 57 years old, with US Airways since 1980.
• Doreen Welsh 58 years old, with US Airways since 1970.
• Donna Dent. 51 years old, with US Airways since 1982.

Chronology of events

AWE Flight 1549 departed New York at 15:24 EST (20:24 UTC). 90 seconds after takeoff, the voice recorder recorded the crew commander's remark regarding the entry of birds. A second later, the sound of impacts and the rapid decay of the sound of both engines were recorded.

The plane managed to climb 3200 feet (975 meters). The PIC gave a distress signal and informed the dispatcher about the collision of the aircraft with a flock of birds, as a result of which both engines were disabled. The loss of thrust of both engines was confirmed by a preliminary analysis of the flight recorder records.

The pilots managed to turn the plane, taking off north, south, glide over the Hudson without hitting the George Washington Bridge, and splash the liner across from 48th Street in Manhattan without destroying the heavy fueled plane. He finally stopped opposite 42nd Street. In total, the plane stayed in the air for about three minutes.

After splashdown, the plane remained on the surface of the water, and the passengers through both emergency exits went out onto the plane of the wing. All passengers on board were rescued by ferries and boats, which approached a splashed plane a few minutes later (one of the ferry crossings between Manhattan and New Jersey is located near the splashdown site).

78 people received medical care for minor injuries and hypothermia (the water temperature was quite low, various media cite figures from “near zero” to sometimes negative water temperatures).

Aircraft damage

As a result of landing, rescue and towing operations, the airplane's glider received significant damage. organic remains and a bird's feather were found on the right engine, the left engine separated during splashdown and sank, but on January 23 it was raised from the bottom of the river and sent for examination.

Investigation

Effects

The further fate of the aircraft

After the evacuation of passengers, the aircraft was towed to the pier near the World Financial Center (approximately 6 km from the splashdown site), where it was lifted.

Following the investigation, the aircraft was acquired by the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. At first, the plane stood without engines. Fully presented by autumn 2012

Cultural aspects

The landing of US Airways flight 1549 to the Hudson is featured in the Canadian documentary television series Airplane Crash Investigations in the series Landing on the Hudson.

see also

• Ilyushin Il-12 flooding in Kazan
• Landing Tu-124 on the Neva

Notes (edit)

1. Ken Belson. Updates From Plane Rescue in Hudson River. The New York Times Company.15 January 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2009. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012.
2. The passenger plane splashed down into the Hudson River. BBC / BBC Russian Service (15 January 2009). Retrieved January 16, 2009. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012.
3. 1 2 (Russian) "Miracle on the Hudson": a passenger plane fell into the river. All 155 people on board were rescued. NEWSru.com (January 16, 2009). Retrieved January 16, 2009. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012.
4. Russell Goldman. US Airways Hero Pilot Searched Plane Twice Before Leaving. ABCNews Internet Ventures / The Walt Disney Company (January 15). Retrieved January 16, 2009. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012.
5. Pia Sarkar, Tom Liddy, Jeremy Olshan. Wife: Sully "s a" pilot "s pilot" (January 16, 2009). Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2009. (English)
6. NTSB: US Airways jet 's engines lost power together (inaccessible link - history). The Associated Press (January 18, 2009). Archived from the original on January 19, 2009.
7. "Jewelry landing on the Hudson" on SMI.ru
8. "Miracle over the Hudson" in the "Rossiyskaya Gazeta"
9. National Transportation Safety Board (January 21, 2009). NTSB Issues update on investigation into ditching of US Airways jetliner into Hudson River. Press release. Retrieved on 2009-01-21.
10. Airbus A-320 left engine lifted from the bottom of the Hudson, Lenta.Ru (January 23, 2009). Retrieved January 23, 2009.
11. Aviation Museum lands flight 1549 engines | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper

Links

• (English) TV show “Hudson Plane Crash. What Really Happened. "
• (English) Video 3D reconstruction of events
• Miracle on the Hudson
• "Cactus Flight 1549 Accident Reconstruction (US Airways Animation)". Exosphere3D.

crash landing a320 on the hudson

Emergency landing of A320 on the Hudson Information

A source: http://www.aviasafety.ru/inspection/investigations/815-a320-hudson-results

Based on its investigation into this serious incident, the National Transportation Safety Board has issued more than twenty-five new safety recommendations. During the investigation, it was found that there were serious problems, which, nevertheless, did not prevent the crew from saving the lives of all 150 passengers and 5 crew members of the flight that departed on January 15, 2009 from New York's La Guardia airport to Charlotte. Two and a half minutes after takeoff, the plane collided with a flock of Canadian geese, and several birds hit the engines at once. This caused an almost complete loss of engine thrust, as a result of which the crew decided to splash down in the Hudson River.

The investigation report notes that it was only by a fluke that an aircraft equipped with water landing equipment was added to the plan for this inland flight. However, it was noted that in some cases the locations for lifejackets, ropes and inflatable chutes were either inconvenient to use, out of reach, or not functioning properly.

The report says that some of the security measures and actions in emergency situations were either ignored or could not be completed during the chaotic three minutes after the collision. The crew wasted valuable time trying to restart the engines, because they did not know that it was impossible to return them to working condition. After the decision was made to splash down in the Hudson, the crew did not prepare passengers for landing on the water and could not complete the reading of the checklist in case of engine failure.

Only four passengers managed to put on life jackets and tie them before landing on the water. Only 29 passengers were able to put on life jackets without tying them, and ten of them reported that they managed to get the vest from under the chair with great difficulty. Everyone noted that it was very difficult to tie a vest on themselves, so they did not have time to do it.

During landing, a crack formed in the tail of the aircraft, into which water began to flow. Because of this, use two tail chutes, which simultaneously serve liferafts, failed. Many passengers who did not get into the involved two front chutes, which carried 64 people, stood on their wings knee-deep in the cold water.

The plane was also equipped with four rescue lines that passengers could hold onto to avoid falling into the water, but rescue lines are located in the bow and aft of the plane, where the flight attendants could not get. If it gets into water with a temperature of 4 degrees, there would be a high risk that this would lead to numerous casualties, since in such conditions, many of the body cannot withstand more than 5 minutes.

A favorable factor was also the fact that in the water area of ​​the river there were numerous boats and floating crafts that participated in the river work. Thanks to their instant help, everyone was removed from the water.

Documents released by the Council say the crew could technically return to Runway 13 at La Guardia. However, taking into account the time it took to assess the situation, Captain Sullenberger made the most appropriate decision to carry out the landing on the water. The report emphasizes the speed with which the crew evaluated the available information and made a decision, as well as the coordinated work of its members.

The Council first of all recommends that all aircraft, even those that fly primarily over the earth's surface, must be equipped with life jackets and floating seat cushions for each passenger. Similar recommendation to the Federal Office civil aviation in 2003 was withdrawn for reasons of cost savings.

The Transportation Safety Board also called for a study of the situation where passengers assume a grouped position during emergency landings - leaning forward and wrapping their hands over their heads. With the new shape of the chairs, this position becomes unsafe. On boarding the water, two passengers who took this position in accordance with the recommendations on the reminder sheet for such situations suffered shoulder fractures.

To prevent pilots from trying to start engines that are inoperative, the Council has recommended that the US Federal Aviation Administration work with NASA and the military to develop technology that can inform pilots about engine health. The Council also made recommendations for new water landing parameters when it is performed when both engines are out of operation. low altitude.

Recommendations have been developed to make the engines more resistant to direct bird penetration. The Civil Aviation Authority is advised to conduct research on the relationship between the growth of populations of large birds, such as Canadian geese and white pelicans, and the number of aircraft collisions with them. Last November, a Frontier Airlines A319 collided with a flock of snow geese, shutting off one engine and severely damaging another. The plane returned to the departure airfield, where it made an emergency landing.

If strikes with larger birds continue, the Council will recommend revising the certification standards so that engines can remain operational after striking larger birds. In the case of the A320 aircraft, the collision occurred with birds weighing about 4 kilograms, while the engines are designed to hit birds up to 2 kilograms. The newer generation engines can withstand collisions with 4kg birds, but there are species that weigh more than 6kg in nature.

Today America and the world have a new hero. The 57-year-old pilot of US Airways, former military Chesley Sullenberger, literally saved 150 lives in just a few seconds and forever inscribed his name in aviation history.

What Sullenberger succeeded in sounds almost like science fiction. After the failure of both engines, he made the only right decision and a large passenger A-320 on the water of the Hudson River, in fact, in the middle of New York. I planted it so that all passengers and crew members survived. The footage from the scene of the accident, thanks to the pilot, which did not become a disaster, is now shown on all world TV channels.

Alexey Veselovsky, NTV correspondent in New York restored the chronology of events.

A real miracle was called in America the rescue of passengers on US Airways flight No. 1549, which the pilots had landed in the Hudson. The case is truly unique. The liner with inoperative engines was put on the water so that not a single person died.

Airbus A-320 with 150 passengers and five crew members on board flew from New York LaGuardia Airport to North Carolina. He was still gaining altitude and was over Manhattan when he suddenly crashed into a flock of birds. Both aircraft engines were out of order in a matter of seconds.

Karl Bazarian, passenger of the plane: “When there were pops, we thought that it was impossible for two engines to fail at once. And we decided that we were turning around to return to LaGuardia. And then someone said: "Lord, this guy is falling into the river!"

The commander of the ship makes the only correct decision - to land on the water. The Hudson is running under the airbus. The plane is losing speed, there are densely populated areas below, and the airport cannot be reached. Amateur photographs taken seconds before the plane fell into the water show that the airbus lands with a high angle of attack. This means the pilots dropped their speed to the maximum possible.

Jeff Kolodzhej, passenger: “It was very scary. Then there was a strong blow, people covered in blood. Where I got out from, a woman cut her leg badly. They all smashed their heads, but the pilot, of course, saved us. "

A-320 landed in the area of ​​46th Street near ferry crossing which links New York and New Jersey. It is not known whether the ship commander deliberately chose this point or not, but thanks to the proximity of the crossing, the passengers in a few minutes after the fall, while the plane somehow kept afloat, were saved. Tourist ships and lifeguard boats surrounded the airbus almost instantly.

Help came so quickly that some of the passengers literally got out of the water. Many did not even have time to freeze, although the temperature in New York was minus six degrees, and even with the wind. Almost all of them have minor bruises and abrasions. Several fractures. Only a few out of 150 passengers went to hospitals, and everyone thanked the pilot for the miraculous rescue.

Brad Wentzell, Airplane Passenger: “This pilot, this man, he must be given credit. Because of him, my daughter will still have a dad, and my wife will have a husband. "

The captain of the ship that saved Flight 1549 is named Chesley Sullenberger. A former military pilot, his flight experience is 40 years. Of these, 28 of them work for US Airways. And only thanks to him and a whole chain of unique coincidences, a miracle on the Hudson became possible.

From 1998 to 2004, in the United States alone, 56,000 cases of aircraft collisions with birds were recorded. On tests, the engines are specially pelted with carcasses of chickens and ducks, and they continue to work. Obviously, this time the Airbus collided with larger individuals, talk about a flock wild geese... Moreover, it is also unique that the birds put out of action two aircraft engines at once.

It was lucky that everything happened during the day, and the weather was clear. It would be almost impossible to land the liner on the water at night. And the most important thing is the work of the pilots, who approached the water at very low speed and without bank. Only thanks to this, the fuselage of the airbus did not fall apart on impact, and all the people survived. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the ship's captain a hero.

Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York. “I spoke with the commander for a long time. He walked the plane twice after everyone had evacuated to make sure there was no one on board. In my opinion, the pilot did something incredible. "

Now the Federal Aviation Commission is preparing an official report on the causes of the accident. Inspectors inspect the engines of an airbus that, after being dragged by the current for several miles, was tied with cables to a waterfront in lower Manhattan.

Experienced Russian pilots confirm that the American pilot really showed miracles of professionalism. Landing on water is an extremely difficult maneuver, especially for aircraft with engines located under the wing.

Igor Chalik, commander of the A-320 detachment of the Aeroflot airline: “When landing on water, if it is done carelessly, the lower edges of the engine cling to the water first, there is a large diving moment, and the plane can go under water. The pilot's task in this non-standard situation is to extinguish the speed to the minimum and sit first on the back of the fuselage, and then slowly lower the nose, compensating for this diving moment.

This is a very rare case, and in the entire history of civil aviation I can recall 3-4 cases when landings were made in this way. There must be a very serious refusal so that the pilots are not able to land either at the airfield or on the ground. "

The most famous took place in the 68th in Leningrad. Then the passenger Tu-124, flying from Tallinn, jammed the landing gear, and then ran out of fuel. The pilots had no choice but to land the liner on the Neva. No harm done. The crew commander was first fired, but then awarded the order.

In the same year, a similar thing happened in America. The pilot of the aircraft DC-8 (DC-8) of "Japanese Airlines" went off course and successfully boarded water surface close to San Francisco airport.

The only case when splashdown passenger liner managed to shoot on video - this is 1996, Comoros. Ethiopian Airlines' Boeing was hijacked by terrorists. When the tanks ran out of fuel, the pilots tried to land the plane on the water. It ended in failure - 127 people died.

On a frosty day in January 2009, a US Airways plane took off from New York's LaGuardia airport somewhere in North Carolina. Two minutes after takeoff, a flock of geese slammed into it, knocking out both engines. A few minutes later, crew commander Chesley Sullenberger, naturally called Sally (Tom Hanks), and Skiles' co-pilot (Aaron Eckhart) landed an airbus in the middle of the Hudson River, right across from Manhattan. None of the 150 passengers died, one stewardess injured her leg.

Eastwood, based, in particular, on the quickly released, reconstructs the recent amazing history with maximum accuracy. The country wears Sally in its arms, his portraits are on all front pages, Obama invites him to the inauguration (this is no longer in the film). Meanwhile, a professional drama that is invisible to the world - but central to the film, which needs a conflict - is developing: the commission of the aviation department is trying to find out if it was not easier to land the plane less effectively in one of the nearest airports, and it seems to be inclined to the conclusion that yes, simpler.

Russian trailer "Miracle on the Hudson"

"Miracle on the Hudson", like any miracle, however, first of all causes skepticism. Old Eastwood once again explores the nature of American heroism, Tom Hanks once again plays an American hero, and it all looks like the movie "The Crew" (with Denzel Washington, not ours) minus vodka and cocaine (that is, the most interesting).

Indeed, in some places the picture may seem insipid or even cloying. The nerve of "Sniper", Eastwood's previous work, with which it is difficult to avoid comparison, struggled due to the fact that the hero killed 150 people - an achievement still controversial. Sally saved 150 people: what is there, in theory, to talk about. Even if the plane could be landed in the traditional way, who really cares about it, other than the airline, the winners are not judged. The fight between the good and the best, the mustache with a brush, making two main characters (especially Eckhart) look like good-natured dogs at once, telephone conversations with his beloved wife (Laura Linney), applause in pubs, hugs strangers, Letterman's ether, and so on.

But this is nothing more than an eventful outline, which Eastwood sets out with his characteristic straightforwardness in recent years. What actually happens on the screen, on the contrary, is the debunking of heroism or, more precisely, the romantic myth about it. There was no miracle, Eastwood argues. The triumphant three minutes were only possible because Sullenberger had 40 years of flying before. Already in the river, people did not die from hypothermia, because there was a steam nearby and rescuers quickly worked. Something was done by the co-pilot, something by the dispatcher, something by flight attendants, something by the passengers themselves. In other words, putting an Airbus on the water is not a feat; feat - every morning to put on pants, go to work and try to do it well.

© Karo Premier

This simple consideration is precisely what haunts Sullenberger all the way while the crowd is rocking him, and perhaps this is what Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks think about when they receive their next Oscar. Both, professionals to the core, perform here emphatically discreet, almost dry. Hanks, who has already outplayed everything, it seems, the facets of human dignity, again finds some unique nuances in the character, positive to the gnashing of teeth. Eastwood seems passive in conversational scenes, but when it comes to the main act, the disaster itself, the director's composure works wonders - not even in IMAX, these scenes creep into goosebumps. Miracle on the Hudson, with its allusions to 9/11 and the 2008 crisis, is a New York anthem and, of course, a tribute to Chesley Sullenberger, but in essence it is a deeply non-pathetic film - and that is why it is so compelling. Patting the pilot, he says, is not necessary at all when landing. And not necessarily a pilot.