US Airways Flight 1549 - Us Air Flight Status

US Airways Flight 1549 (AWE1549; Callsign: CACTUS 1549) was an Airbus A320-214 on a scheduled passenger flight from New York City to Seattle with a stopover at Charlotte. On January 15, 2009, it experienced multiple bird strikes and both engines failed as a result. Pilots Captain Chesley Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles glided the plane to ditch safely in the Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew aboard evacuated from the partially submerged aircraft; they were rescued by nearby boats. Several people suffered injuries (a few were serious), but only two required overnight hospitalization. The incident came to be known as the "Miracle on the Hudson," and Sullenberger and the crew were hailed as heroes.

The aircraft was registered N106US and operating as a US Airways scheduled domestic commercial passenger flight. About three minutes into the flight, at local time 3:27 p.m. EST, it was making its initial standard instrument departure climb out from LaGuardia, just northeast of the George Washington Bridge, when it struck a flock of Canada geese and quickly lost power in both engines.

As the aircraft lost altitude, the pilots concluded that returning to LaGuardia or landing at nearby Teterboro Airport were unfeasible. They turned southward over the Hudson and ditched off midtown Manhattan, near the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, four minutes after losing power.

The entire crew was awarded the Master's Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. The award citations read: "This emergency ditching and evacuation, with the loss of no lives, is a heroic and unique aviation achievement". National Transportation Safety Board member Kitty Higgins described the feat as "the most successful ditching in aviation history."

Background

Flight designations, route, and crew

US Airways Flight 1549 (AWE1549, also designated under a Star Alliance codeshare agreement as United Airlines Flight 1919 UA1919) was a U.S. domestic route from New York City's LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Charlotte Douglas (CLT), with direct onward service to Seattleâ€"Tacoma International Airport in Washington.

On January 15, 2009, the flight â€" carrying 150 passengers plus the captain, first officer, and three flight attendants â€" was cleared for takeoff from Runway 4 at LaGuardia at 3:24:56 pm Eastern Standard Time (20:24:56 UTC). The crew made its first report after becoming airborne at 3:25:51 as being at 700 feet (210 m) and climbing.

The pilot in command was 57-year-old Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, a former fighter pilot who had been an airline pilot since leaving the United States Air Force in 1980. At the time, Sullenberger had logged 19,663 total flight hours, including 4,765 in an A320. He was also a safety expert and a glider pilot. The first officer was Jeffrey B. Skiles, 49, who was on the last leg of his first assignment in the Airbus A320 since passing to fly the type. Skiles had accrued 15,643 flight hours throughout his career.

Aircraft

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-214, registered N106US, powered by two GE Aviation/Snecma-designed CFM56-5B4/P turbofan engines. Delivered in 1999, it was one of 74 A320s then in service at US Airways.

Maintenance records showed that when N106US was written off, its airframe had logged 16,299 flights totaling 25,241 flight hours; and the engines 19,182 and 26,466 hours. The last "A Check", which is performed every 550 flight hours, was passed on December 6, 2008, and the last C Check (annual comprehensive inspection) on April 19, 2008.

The Airbus A320 is a digital fly-by-wire aircraft: the flight control surfaces are controlled by a digital computer. The computer interprets pilot commands via input from a side-stick, making adjustments on its own to keep the plane stable and on course, which is particularly useful after engine failure by allowing the pilots to concentrate on engine restart and landing planning.

The engines are the primary source of electrical and hydraulic power for the aircraft flight control systems, but an auxiliary power unit (APU) can provide backup electrical power, and a ram air turbine (RAT) can be deployed into the airstream to provide backup hydraulic pressure and electrical power at certain speeds. Both the APU and RAT were operating as the plane descended onto the river.

The Airbus A320 has a control that closes valves and other openings in the fuselage, in order to slow flooding after a water landing, but the flight crew did not activate it. Sullenberger later said this would have made little difference since the water impact tore substantial holes in the fuselage anyway. He also noted that the impact could have been less violent, but software designed to prevent pitching up and down had prevented him from getting maximum lift manually just before impact.

Flight and landing

Takeoff and bird strike

Skiles was in control at the take off to the northeast from Runway 4 at 3:25 pm. At 3:27:11 the plane struck a flock of Canada geese at an altitude of 2,818 feet (859 m) about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north-northwest of the airport. The pilots' view was filled with large brown birds, the crew heard several loud thuds, and both engines shut down; Sullenberger took control while Skiles began working the checklist for engine restart. The aircraft slowed but continued to climb for a further nineteen seconds, reaching about 3,060 feet (930 m) at an airspeed of about 185 knots (343 km/h; 213 mph), then began a glide descent, accelerating to 210 knots (390 km/h; 240 mph) at 3:28:10 as it descended through 1,650 feet (500 m).

At 3:27:36, using the call sign "Cactus 1539 [sic]," Sullenberger radioed New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON): "Hit birds. We've lost thrust on both engines. We're turning back towards LaGuardia". Passengers and crew later reported hearing "very loud bangs" in both engines and seeing flaming exhaust, then silence from the engines and an odor of fuel in the cabin. Controller Patrick Harten told LaGuardia tower to hold all departures, and directed Sullenberger back to LaGuardia's Runway 13. Sullenberger responded that he was unable.

Sullenberger asked if they could attempt to land in New Jersey, mentioning Teterboro Airport specifically; controllers obtained permission for a landing on Teterboro's Runway 1. Sullenberger responded "We can't do it ... We're gonna be in the Hudson". Controllers at LaGuardia saw the aircraft pass less than 900 feet (270 m) above the George Washington Bridge. About ninety seconds before impact Sullenberger commanded, "brace for impact", and the flight attendants relayed the command to passengers.

Ditching

At 3:31 pm the plane made an unpowered ditching, descending southwards at about 130 knots (150 mph; 240 km/h) into the middle of the North River section of the Hudson tidal estuary, at 40.769498°N 74.004636°W / 40.769498; -74.004636 roughly opposite West 50th Street (near the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum) in Manhattan and Port Imperial in Weehawken, New Jersey. Sullenberger later said that he ditched near operating boats to facilitate rescue; two boat terminals used by ferry operator NY Waterway (on either side of the river) and a third used by tour boat operator Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises were close by.

Two of the flight attendants compared the ditching to a "hard landing" with "one impact, no bounce, then a gradual deceleration." Afterwards, the plane drifted southward with the ebb tide. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Board member later called it "the most successful ditching in aviation history."

Evacuation

Sullenberger opened the cockpit door and ordered evacuation. As the plane drifted downriver the crew began evacuating the passengers onto the wings (through the four overwing window exits) and into an inflatable slide/raft deployed from the front right passenger door (the front left slide failed to operate, so the manual inflation handle was pulled). A panicking passenger opened a rear door, allowing in more water. The rear flight attendant tried but failed to reseal the door, and water was also entering through a hole in the fuselage and through the cargo doors that had come open, so she urged passengers to move forward by climbing over seats to escape the rising water. One passenger was in a wheelchair. Finally, Sullenberger twice walked the cabin to confirm it was empty.

Some evacuees awaited rescue on the partially submerged slides, knee-deep in water and some wearing life-vests. Others stood on the wings or, fearing an explosion, swam away from the plane. One passenger, after helping with the evacuation, found the wing so crowded that he jumped into the river and swam to a boat. The air and water temperatures were about 20 °F (âˆ'7 °C) and 23â€"36 °F (0â€"2 °C) respectively.

Rescue

Boats from NY Waterways and Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises responded quickly. NY Waterway ferry Thomas Jefferson, commanded by Captain Vince Lombardi, reached the plane four minutes after the ditching, and NY Waterway ferry Governor Thomas H. Kean, commanded by 20-year-old Brittany Catanzaro arrived a few minutes later, and began taking people aboard using a Jason's cradle. Sullenberger advised the ferry crew to rescue those on the wing before those on the slides (detached from the plane to become life rafts), which were safer. As the plane drifted in the current, passengers on one of the slides, fearing that the stern of the boat would crush them, had to shout to the pilot to steer away.

The first Fire Chief on scene transmitted a "10-60" (Major Emergency Response) to confirm a major emergency. About 140 New York City firefighters responded to nearby docks as did police, helicopters, and various vessels and divers. Other agencies provided medical help on the Weehawken side of the river, where most passengers were taken.

Injuries

There were five serious injuries, one of which was a deep laceration in flight attendant Doreen Welsh's leg. In total, 78 people were treated, mostly for minor injuries and hypothermia, twenty-four passengers and two rescuers treated at hospitals, with two passengers kept overnight. One passenger now wears glasses because of jet fuel damaging his eyes. No pets were being carried on the flight.

Delayed psychological effects were reported by passengers and rescuers, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress such as sleeplessness, flashbacks, and panic attacks. Some received professional counseling, and some began an email support group. Patrick Harten, the air traffic controller who had worked the flight, told Congress that "the hardest, most traumatic part of the entire event was when it was over", and that he was "gripped by raw moments of shock and grief."

Events following the incident

Immediate aftermath

At 4:57 pm fire crews began to stand down.

The crew, especially Sullenberger, were praised, notably by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York State Governor David Paterson, who said: "We had a Miracle on 34th Street. I believe now we have had a Miracle on the Hudson." Outgoing U.S. President George W. Bush said he was "inspired by the skill and heroism of the flight crew," and praised the emergency responders and volunteers. President-elect Barack Obama said that everyone was proud of Sullenberger's "heroic and graceful job in landing the damaged aircraft," and thanked the crew, whom he invited to attend his inauguration as President five days later. He also invited those who had helped ensure the safety of everyone aboard.

The partially submerged plane was moored to a pier near the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, roughly 4 miles (6 km) downstream from the ditching location. The left engine, detached by the ditching, was recovered from the riverbed. On January 17 the aircraft was barged to New Jersey.

Investigation

Initial National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) evaluations that plane had lost thrust after a bird strike was confirmed by analysis of the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder.

It was quickly reported that the plane had experienced a similar but less severe compressor stall a few days earlier. Passengers had been told that an emergency landing might be required, but the affected engine was restarted and the flight continued. The NTSB later reported that a faulty temperature sensor (subsequently replaced) had been the cause, and that the engine had not been damaged.

On January 21, the NTSB found evidence of soft-body damage in the right engine along with organic debris including a feather. While not finding any obvious organic matter in the left engine, it also evidenced soft body impact, with "dents on both the spinner and inlet lip of the engine cowling. Five booster inlet guide vanes are fractured and eight outlet guide vanes are missing". Both engines, which were missing large portions of their housings, were sent to the manufacturer for examination. On January 31, the plane was moved to Kearny, New Jersey. Bird remains found in both engines were later identified by DNA testing to be from Canada geese, which typically weigh more than the engine impact design limits.

On February 5, the FAA released recordings and transcripts of the ATC communications during the accident. The exchange between Flight 1549 and ATC lasted less than two minutes.

Because the A320 is built in France the European Aviation Safety Agency (the European counterpart of the FAA) and the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (the French counterpart of the NTSB) joined the investigation, with technical assistance from Airbus Industrie and GE Aviation/Snecma, respectively the manufacturers of the airframe and the engines.

The NTSB used Airbus simulators to test the possibility that Flight 1549 could have returned safely to LaGuardia or diverted to Teterboro Airport; only eight of the fifteen runs succeeded, although all four attempts to reach the nearest LaGuardia runway were successful. The NTSB report noted that these test conditions were unrealistic: "The immediate turn made by the pilots during the simulations did not reflect or account for real-world considerations ..." One further simulation was conducted with the pilot delayed by 35 seconds: he crashed trying to return to LGA runway 22.

Sullenberger testified in hearings before the NTSB. He maintained that there had been no time to execute the maneuver needed to return the plane to any airport, which might have killed those onboard and more on the ground. It ultimately ruled that Sullenberger had made the correct decision in ditching the plane. The NTSB's reasoning was that the dual-engine failure checklist for the Airbus A320 addresses power loss at higher altitude, when pilots have more time to deal with the situation, and that while simulations showed that Flight 1549 could barely have made it back to LaGuardia, those scenarios would have required Sullenberger to make an immediate decision without taking any time to assess the situation.

The NTSB concluded its investigation on May 4, 2010, and determined the probable cause to be "the ingestion of large birds into each engine, which resulted in an almost total loss of thrust in both engines." The final report credited the outcome to four factors: Firstly, good decision making by the crew (including decisions immediately to turn on the APU and to ditch in the Hudson). Secondly, the luck in having a plane certified for extended over water flight (EOW) even though this was not mandated for that particular flight. Thirdly, the performance of the crew during the evacuation, and finally the fast response by emergency responders. Contributing factors were good visibility and a fast response from the ferry operators. The final report was published on May 28, 2010.

Real-time video and first-person accounts

The incident with Flight 1549, within a heavily populated city during daylight at the start of evening rush hour, was unusual in leaving a real-time video and photographic record. Video was recorded by several closed-circuit television cameras. Various television reports and documentaries produced soon afterwards contained extensive video of the ditching and rescue, and recorded interviews with the aircrew, passengers, rescuers, and other key participants. These included:

• Within 35 minutes of the crash, survivor Alberto Panero, contacted by a CNN producer on the scene, was interviewed live on-air by Wolf Blitzer, giving his firsthand account.
• On February 8, 2009, the CBS program 60 Minutes broadcast three segments that included interviews with the aircrew as well as their reunion with passengers. The program aired again on July 5, 2009.
  • "A Routine Takeoff Turns Ugly"
  • "Flight 1549: Saving 155 Souls In Minutes"
  • "Flight 1549: An Emotional Reunion"
• On February 19, 2009, a Channel 4 (UK) documentary entitled The Miracle of the Hudson Plane Crash included eyewitness accounts from passengers, rescuers, and witnesses.
• On February 21, 2009, KGO-TV in San Francisco broadcast an interview in the "Face to Face" series. Dan Ashley talked to Captain and Mrs. Sullenberger about their experiences during and since the accident.
• On March 4, 2009, the Discovery Channel broadcast a one-hour documentary entitled Hudson Plane Crash â€" What Really Happened, with computer-generated imagery (CGI) animations of the flight, and interviews with passengers, crew, witnesses, rescuers, and aviation safety experts.
• On Sunday, January 10, 2010, TLC aired a documentary entitled Brace For Impact, aired again on April 14 in Australia as Brace For Impact: Inside The Hudson Plane Crash.
• In March 2011, Ric Elias, a front-row passenger shared his experience during a TED Conference.
• Beginning in June 2011, the University of North Carolina School of Filmmaking and Process Pictures, LLC worked with the Carolinas Aviation Museum to produce a documentary, which also looked at the impact of the incident on society.

Aftermath

Each passenger received a letter of apology, $5,000 in compensation for lost baggage (and $5,000 more if they could demonstrate larger losses), and a refund of the ticket price. In May 2009 they received any belongings that had been recovered. In addition, they reported offers of $10,000 each in return for agreeing not to sue US Airways.

To prevent similar incidents, workers from the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and the city's Parks and Recreation Department and Environmental Protection Departments captured and gassed 1,235 Canada geese at 17 locations across New York in June and July 2009. The Agriculture Department undertook another goose control measure by coating 1,739 eggs with corn oil, which smothers developing goslings.

In 2010, the damaged plane (excluding its engines) had been acquired for the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Museum held a reception on June 11 to commemorate the body of the plane's arrival in Charlotte, with Sullenberger as keynote speaker, and the 150 passengers invited.

Awards

The Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators awarded the crew a Master's Medal on January 22, 2009; this is awarded only rarely, for outstanding aviation achievements at the discretion of the Master of the Guild. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented the crew with the Keys to the City, and Sullenberger with a replacement copy of a library book lost on the flight, Sidney Dekker's Just Culture: Balancing Safety and Accountability. Rescuers received Certificates of Honor.

The crew received a standing ovation at the Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009, and Sullenberger threw out the first pitch at the 2009 Major League Baseball season for the San Francisco Giants. His Giants' jersey was inscribed with the name "Sully" and the number 155 â€" the number of persons aboard the plane.

On July 28, passengers Dave Sanderson and Barry Leonard organized a thank you luncheon for emergency responders from Hudson County, New Jersey, on the shores of Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, New Jersey, where 57 passengers had been brought following their rescue, a mile north of the landing site. Present were members from the U.S. Coast Guard, North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, NY Waterway Ferries, the American Red Cross, Weehawken Volunteer First Aid, the Weehawken Police Department, West New York E.M.S., North Bergen E.M.S., the Hudson County Office of Emergency Management, the New Jersey E.M.S. Task Force, the Guttenberg Police Department, McCabe Ambulance, the Harrison Police Department, and doctors and nurses who treated survivors for hypothermia and other injuries following the incident.

Sullenberger was named Grand Marshal for the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

In August 2010, Jeppesen issued an approach plate titled "Hudson Miracle APCH," dedicated to the five crew of Flight 1549 and annotated "Presented with Pride and Gratitude from your friends at Jeppesen."

Sullenberger retired on March 3, 2010, after thirty years' service with US Airways and its predecessor. At the end of his final flight he was reunited with Skiles and a number of the passengers from Flight 1549.

In popular media

The Discovery Channel (Canada) / National Geographic TV series Mayday (also called Air Crash Investigation or Air Emergency) dramatized the accident in an episode titled Hudson Splash Down. It was also recreated in a National Geographic Channel TV special titled "Miracle Landing on the Hudson," and in the UK for a Channel 5 special in 2011.

Garrison Keillor honored the entire flight crew by writing a song and performing it on his show, A Prairie Home Companion.

The ditching is referenced in the song "A Real Hero" by College and Electric Youth, best known from the 2011 movie Drive. The lyrics of the second verse describe the water landing and the survival of the passengers and crew, as well alluding to the freezing river.

Sullenberger is referenced in the 2011 romantic comedy Friends with Benefits. Throughout the film, Justin Timberlake's character suggests that modern airplanes practically fly themselves, and that Sullenberger's feat was less impressive than portrayed, but is met with incredulity and hostility. Mila Kunis's character is seen reading Sullenberger's English Wikipedia article.

Sullenberger's memoir, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters was adapted into a feature film Sully, directed by Clint Eastwood, with Tom Hanks as Sullenberger and Aaron Eckhart as co-pilot Jeff Skiles. It was released on September 9, 2016.