An investigation will take place today into the cause of a plane crash which saw 155 passengers and crew survive being plunged into the freezing waters of New York’s Hudson river.
In what was described as ‘the miracle on the Hudson’, former US air force pilot Chesley Sullenberger managed to land the plane intact on the water from where emergency services and commercial ferries were able to transport all the survivors to safety
Last night, the National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators to New York to look into the cause of the incident, which took place at around 8.30pm last night UK time.
Minutes after the Airbus 320 took off from LaGuardia airport en route for Charlotte, North Carolina, the pilot radioed that he had hit a flock of migrating geese and was having engine trouble.
Mr Sullenberger (57), has been hailed as a hero for managing to bring the plane down with no loss of life to passengers on US Airways Flight 1549.
Last night passengers told of their lucky escape.
Jeff Kolodjay said passengers started praying after the pilot warned them to brace themselves for a hard impact. Mr Kolodjay, from Norwalk, Connecticut, said that three or four minutes into the flight the left engine blew.
“The pilot told us to brace for impact and that pilot did one hell of a job making sure everyone or the vast majority of people got off,” he said.
Asked if it was an orderly evacuation, Mr Kolodjay said: “I would say that for a plane that is dumped in the Hudson River, about as orderly as can be. I’m happy to be alive - I’m perfect.”
All the passengers were later accounted for. The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, told a press conference: “It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and making sure that everyone got out.
“I had a long conversation with the pilot, who walked the plane twice after everyone got off to make sure there was no-one left on board. This pilot did a wonderful job.”
Governor David Paterson added: “We have had a miracle on 34th Street, I believe now we have had a miracle on the Hudson.”
The FBI said there was no indication of terrorist involvement, while Mr Bloomberg said in his press conference that there was nothing to suggest anything other than an accident.
Chief executive of US Airways Doug Parker refused to speculate about the cause of the crash. “The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an internal investigation to determine the probable cause.”