Miracle on the Hudson: Ten years later
Passengers of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 gathered Tuesday to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the “Miracle on the Hudson” crash landing.
Captain Chelsey Sullenberger joined fellow crew members and passengers at the Carolina Aviation Museum in Charlotte for the reunion.
The city was the plane’s destination when it took off on January 15, 2009, and the spot where its wreckage now resides.
The Airbus A320 hit a flock of geese shortly after takeoff from New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. The bird strike caused the plane to lose all engine power.
Unable to reach any nearby airports, Captain Sullenberger glided the plane into the Hudson River, just off the shore of midtown Manhattan.
All 155 people on board survived the landing and were rescued by nearby boats.
“This was a very orderly evacuation in my mind because we all had a common goal: we all wanted to get off of the plane and we all wanted to be rescued,” flight attendant Sheila Dail recalled.
“We were able to collaborate wordlessly in a situation where the time pressure and the workload were so extreme, we didn’t even have time to talk about it,” Sullenberger said.
Survivors also took a commemorative flight from LaGuardia to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, sitting in their original seats, and toasting at the moment of impact.
