Results tagged “usairwaysflight1549”

After Flight 1549 splash landed into the Hudson River in January—and with everyone surviving—one of the flight attendants, Doreen Welsh, said that a panicked passenger had pushed past her and opened up the rear door, sending water into the cabin. However, a few passengers have told the National Transportation Safety Board that Welsh was actually the one who opened the rear door.

After the Smithsonian's analysis of feathers and organic material left in the engines of US Airways Flight 1549, the National Transportation Safety Board said a flock of Canada geese did hit the plane on January 15. With its engines compromised, the Airbus A320 was then forced to land in the Hudson River, with all passengers and crew surviving. However, the NY Times reports it's unclear whether the birds were migratory birds or more native ones from the NY area: "Those that migrate typically weigh from 6 pounds to nearly 11 pounds, the safety board said, but nonmigrating geese are fatter and 'can exceed published records.' Either kind is too much for the engines to handle, however." The NY Post, which basically called war on Canada geese, seems pleased with the identification.

Though the Miracle on the Hudson was about a month ago, it's still the month of Sully! Pilot Chesley Sullenberger, whose 60 Minutes interview with other Flight 1549 crew members started off the week, is on the cover of People magazine (on newsstands tomorrow) with the youngest passenger of the flight, 10-month-old Damien Sosa.

      

The brave crew of U.S. Airways Flight 1549, which splash landed into the Hudson on January 15, was honored by Mayor Bloomberg this morning. The mayor said:

"New York is a city full of heroes: police officers, firefighters, emergency workers and everyday citizens who show their own brand of courage each day," said Mayor Bloomberg. "That’s why I think New Yorkers have felt such a strong connection to the story of Flight 1549, not just because it happened right here at our doorstep, but because the ‘Fearless Five’ - who managed to save every single passenger on that flight - lived up to an ideal that all of us in New York aspire to and many have often reached."

Last night, 60 Minutes aired interviews with Flight 1549's pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, as well as the Flight 1549 crew—Sullenberger with co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles and flight attendants Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Doreen Welsh. Sullenberger said, "It was a normal climb out in every regard," then "Birds, filling the entire windscreen, from top to bottom, left to right, large birds, close, too close to avoid." He soon smelled the burned bird and then engines failed, "It was obvious to me from the moment that we lost the thrust that this was a critical situation. Losing thrust on both engines, at a low speed, at a low altitude, over one of the most densely populated areas on the planet. Yes, I knew it was a very challenging situation."

When U.S. Airways Flight 1549 splashed landed in the Hudson last month, officials from NYC to D.C. thought it might be terrorism. According to a lengthy NY Times article, officials emergency response systems created in the wake of September 11, 2001. Former Senator Bob Kerrey, who was on the 9/11 Commission, said of the 9/11 attacks, "The airlines knew what was going on, but the Federal Aviation Administration didn’t. Then, the F.A.A. knew, and the White House didn’t. Then, nobody on the local level knew that there were planes, hijacked, on a collision course with the Eastern Seaboard.” Of the "Miracle on the Hudson," the Times writes, "There were oddities, luck and examples of teamwork. Some things seemed to work well. Certainly Flight 1549 revealed the networks of communications that have built up since 9/11. But the implications of the early judgment that the crash was a freak accident might well garner significant scrutiny," since officials believed the "bird strike" cause early on.

     

At last night's performance of the Tony-winning revival of South Pacific, audience members—and cast and crew— got a special treat: A glimpse of US Airways Flight 1549 pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who was attending the Lincoln Center production with his wife and two daughters. Sullenberger returned to NYC for the first time since his amazing landing of the Airbus A320 in the Hudson last month—with all passengers and crew surviving. During the curtain call, the show's star Kelli O'Hara said, "It could have been tragic, but it wasn't. It became a miracle. We've never been more honored than to perform for you, Captain."

Everyone is still amazed at how the crew of US Airways Flight 1549 managed to act so calmly when the plane splash landed into the Hudson River on January 15. Which is why Katie Couric's interview with pilot Chesley Sullenberg, co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles, and flight attendants Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Doreen Welsh on 60 Minutes this Sunday is a much-anticipated opportunity to hear what was going through their minds.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a photograph of a feather that was found in the left engine of US Airways Flight 1549, the plane which landed in the Hudson River somewhat miraculously without any deaths or major injuries. The plane's pilots had both said the Airbus A320 hit birds, suggesting the dual engine failure was due to a bird strike.

While US Airways Flight 1549 pilot Chesley Sullenberger and the crew will be speaking at length on 60 Minutes next Sunday, the admired pilot did speak briefly to ESPN's Rick Reilly during the Super Bowl festivities. Reilly wrote: "I had to ask him, What was that like when you realized both engines were out? He thought about it for awhile and then said, slowly and deliberately, 'Shocking. It was very quiet as we worked, my co-pilot and I. We were a team. But to have zero thrust coming out of those engines was shocking - the silence.' How were you feeling inside? I asked. 'Calm on the outside, turmoil inside.' He kept calling the whole thing 'surreal.'" Sullenberger also said he and his wife had been opening letters every night, "It allows both of us to express emotion about it all. We both sit there and cry."

Count entrepreneur Richard Branson among fans of Captain Chesley Sullenberger, who managed to land US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson—with all 155 passengers and crew members suffering only minor injuries— last month. Branson, who founded Virgin Air, told Rush & Molloy how dazzling Sully was, "Every single thing he could have done right, he did right — from the second he made that decision not to go to that local airport, to put the plane down in the water, to the way he looked after everybody," and added, "I’d like him to come fly for us. We’ll make him the best-paid pilot at Virgin — we’ll give him double [the salary of] anybody else. He also can become one of the astronauts in my intergalactic spaceship company. The man can write his own ticket with me.” Sully's reaction? "That’s amazing. I hadn’t heard that... I will be happy to entertain all the things that are coming my way."

    

Some NJ residents did a double take when the fuselage of a jet, situated on a flatbed truck, rolled down streets. And it was no ordinary fuselage—it was U.S. Airways Flight 1549, which landed into the Hudson River on January 15. According to the Jersey Journal, freelance photographer Richard J. McCormack reported "that the fuselage, which had been brought to Weeks Marine Inc. in Jersey City for the federal investigation after it crash landed in the Hudson River, was supposed to head to Newark via the Officers Shawn Carson and Robert Nguyen Memorial Bridge, but the plane couldn't fit and hit the top of the bridge."

The NY Post, which proclaimed "PLUCK 'EM" to Canada geese after an apparent bird strike forced US Airways Flight 1549 to land in the Hudson River, is now angry at cab drivers for feeding birds at area airports.

The National Transportation Safety Board has begun to inspect the left engine from US Airways Flight 1549, which landed in the Hudson River on January 15, after its engines failed. Investigator Robert Benzon said, "We'll see how it was affected by bird strike." The engine had been lodged in the Hudson and was found by sonar—the NY Times says readings found "cone-shaped object at the end of what looked like a long skid mark, roughly in line with 52nd Street."

After more than a week in the Hudson, the left engine of US Airways Flight 1549 was lifted from the river. The AP reports, "Shards of metal and wiring are hanging out of it and a large portion of the outer shell is missing. It didn't appear to be leaking any oil or fuel, though a steady stream of water gushed from it as it was lifted up." It's believed the plane's engines failed after a bird strike—and, according to the Post, "Air Force brass yesterday offered to give New York one of its cutting-edge bird-detecting radar systems." DeTect Inc. says, "I'm convinced that if La Guardia Airport had one of these radar systems, it would have detected the geese and alerted the controllers and pilot in time to avoid the collision." The Air Force system would go to LGA, since JFK Airport is already getting ready to test one.

Almost a week after US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River, NYPD divers have found the missing left engine in the waters. According to Newsday, the divers "discovered the engine about 3 p.m. in the middle of the river about 60 feet deep...The NYPD divers had been held back for three days because of heavy ice floes after sonar located a large object on the river bottom on Sunday." The U.S Army Corps of Engineers will assist in lifting the engine

According to CNN, passengers, apparently on the same plane as last Thursday's Flight 1549, "heard a series of loud bangs and the flight crew told them they could have to make an emergency landing." Last Thursday, US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River after its engines failed, apparently after a bird strike.

Passenger Steve Jeffrey of Charlotte, North Carolina, told CNN he was flying in first class Tuesday when, about 20 minutes into the flight, "it sounded like the wing was just snapping off."

Continue reading "Flight 1549 Plane Previously Had Problems"

We know that Captain Chesley Sullenberger did a great job and how co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles gave the shirt off his back to a passenger...but did you know Flight 1549's flight attendants Sheila Dail, Doreen Welsh and Donna Dent have a combined 92 years of experience among them? Passenger Billy Campbell said another passenger had opened a rear door, but Welsh was quick to close it so the water would stop coming in: "The flight attendant then made a great call and said, 'Turn around, you've got to get out on the wing.'" The crew wants to remain under the radar, so to speak: They want the media to "respect their desire to refrain from participating in interviews until further notice" during the NTSB's investigation. They also give their "sincere thanks and appreciation for the overwhelming support, praise and well wishes they have received from the public around the world."

Investigators say that Flight 1549 lost both its engines' power at the same time on Thursday afternoon. The US Airways Airbus A320 ended up in the Hudson River after an apparent bird strike.

Legions of Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberg fans—not to mention the plain, ol' curious—were disappointed with news that the Flight 1549 pilot's interview with the Today Show was canceled. The interview was eagerly anticipated—the public's first chance to hear from the heroic pilot who made an incredible landing into the Hudson—but the U.S. Airline Pilots Association requested the interview be canceled and it's unclear whether it will be rescheduled. But there will be plenty of opportunities for Sullenberger: PR guru Howard Rubenstein told the Times that the former Air Force fighter pilot is a "publicist’s dream" (Rubenstein also envisioned lucrative book deals, movie pitches and product endorsements in his future"). Sullenberger and his family are headed to D.C. for the inauguration—and we envision that in a few days, his Facebook page will hit 500,000 fans.

       

US Airways Flight 1549 was removed from the Hudson River yesterday, and the National Transportation Safety Board said that they had recovered both black boxes—the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. The two recorders (flight data recorder pictured below) were taken to Washington D.C. for analysis.

       

Evening Update: Scroll down for additional video footage of the landing.

The NY Post has found a villain in the Miracle on the Hudson story, and it's Canada geese!

While Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the U.S. Airways pilot who is being credited with safely landing Flight 1549 into the Hudson River yesterday, hasn't spoken to the public yet (there that NTSB investigation), the public is speaking for him! Namely, they are drafting him for federal Transportation Secretary, they are demanding Governor Paterson consider appointing him to be the next Senator from New York (even though he's from California) and they are becoming his "fans" on Facebook (so far, 15,629 fans). Even TMZ had to get in on the action, asking who'd you rather (do): Hugh Jackman or Sully. At any rate, we'll sit and continue to marvel at his—and his crew's—actions as his wife and daughters marvel at how people are calling him a hero.

Yesterday's crash of a U.S. Airways Airbus A320 into the Hudson River is being hailed as a "Miracle on the Hudson"—TM Governor Paterson—considering that no one was killed (the most serious injury may be one passenger's broken legs). The federal Department of Transportation is in lower Manhattan, as is a National Transportation Safety Board team, to begin the investigation; they will try to recover the plane's black box.

As everyone continues to marvel how all 155 passengers and crew members were rescued from the U.S. Airways Flight 1549 that landed in the Hudson River, they are ready to call Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger a hero.

                     

Reports are coming in that a plane has crashed in the Hudson River, between Piers 88 and 92 (West 48th-West 52nd Streets; U.S.S. Intrepid is at Pier 86). The newscasts are reporting that it's a US Airways (twin-engine) flight.