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Many of you might have seen or heard about the US Airways A320 that landed in the Hudson river just a few moments ago. Flight 1549, flying from New York’s La Gaurdia to Charlotte, flew into a flock of birds shortly after takeoff. After both engines shut down, not unusual when birds run into jet engines, the pilot announced “brace for landing” on the PA system. The pilot then glided the aircraft slowly into the Hudson river, where it now is floating against a dock. Passengers and crew exited out of the wings and slides of the aircraft, making it appear as though they are walking on water. All passengers and crew survived the accident, thanks to the rush of emergency services and other commercial / private boats on the river during the event.

Captain Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot of the aircraft, is now a hero for his flawless landing on the hudson river, just beyond Manhattan. Captain ‘Sully’ has been flying for US Airways since 1980; prior to that he was in the Air Force flying F-4s. He has about 19,000 hours logged. 

According to Flightaware.com, a flight tracking site, the aircraft’s highest registered altitude was 3,200 feet at 194 knots. Just 3 minutes later the aircraft was 300 feet above the surface and was registering 153 knots; a near perfect glide speed for the aircraft. Below that, from what is known from passenger accounts, the A320 landing smoothly. You can view a detailed map of the aircraft’s path here. 

Two posts ago I wrote about U.S. airlines and their achievement of 2 years without any fatalities. Yet again, we’ve seen top-notch safety from airlines and their crews, as flight 1549 is fatality-free. It’s quite remarkable, really, to have seen this accident occur and nothing bad happen afterwards. US Airways should be quite pleased and proud of their crew; just as much as America is.

Image: unsharpedmask.com