ZOMG.
This is INSANE — but everyone is fine!
A commercial plane took off from LaGuardia and landed in the Hudson River six minutes later after geese flew into the plane and took out BOTH engines.
The Airbus 320, operated by US Airways, glided into the river without damaging its bottom, and the crew was able to guide all the passengers out to the wing, where they were quickly rescued by passing ferries and water taxis. Added to that is the fact that half of midtown Manhattan saw this plane go down and called 911, so police were able to assist right away.
NO ONE was killed. And there were no serious injuries, either!
This could have been SO MUCH worse. There are SO MANY things that could have worsened this situation. Jesus, can you imagine if that plane had crashed into Manhattan?
The crew of this aircraft deserves a Medal of Honor.
In a different lifetime, when I worked in aerospace, I remember one of the old-time engineers telling me about how the engines had to be tested for birds. There was a funny word for it that I forget now. An acronym, I think. I was like, “You have got to be kidding me. We test these things for birds?” And he was like “Absolutely. All it takes is one bird in the wrong place to bring down an aircraft.” I remember being like, “No way. You’re pulling my leg,” and he insisted he was dead serious.
Wow.
This is really a miracle that everyone is okay.
And, on that note, I’m out for the day — I’m headed off to — where else? — THE AIRPORT, because I’m flying to Arizona to do my half-marathon this weekend! But now I’m more nervous about the flight than I am about running 13.1 miles!!!
Pray for NO BIRDS.
Good luck on the half Beet! I’m doing one in Portland in April. You should come run it with me!
Are you a business major?
Is that test called a BASH? I think I’ve heard of that.
No, BASH is a related acronym, but that’s not what it was. I’ll have to email some of my friends at that company and see if they know.
those geese were in al- qaeda.
hahahahahahahaha.
i love me some very dark humor.
Can you believe it. From all accounts the passengers remained relatively calm and exited safely without killing each other.
I never thought I would see the day that a person would have a greater chance of surviving a plane crashing into a freezing river than shopping in Long Island at a Wal-Mart!
crazy
the word you’re looking for is ‘birdstrike’.
Birdstrike is what happened but Beet is right. There is a test they do that has some acronym-ish name…
My dad used to be an airline mechanic and used to tell me stories about birds in engines or embedded in the fuselage. You’d think they could put a cage over the engines or have some sort of bird windshield wipers. :-)
Beet – no worries on flying today. I’m no math genius, but I think the odds of two planes accidentally crashing on the same day are slim. Worst case scenario, you don’t have to run your marathon! :-)
omg i had a heart attack! i was watching this cheesey spanish soap and this comes on, i live in nyc, so when i saw a plane in the water i thought terrorist attack and freaked out and called my mom.
shit i have to fly back to school on sunday :(
te asustaron por novelera, lol
it’s 75 degrees in arizona today. i think the biggest danger in coming is that you might never go back ;-)
I read on like somekind of FAQ about planes for people who are afraid to fly that they’re built to handle birds and if a bird flies in they can always fly on only one engine as well. i’m curious about how this could happend, I hope they have a good answer. I’ve been feeling lately that there has been more and more accidents in like countries where you expect it to be safe. one time when I was gonna fly they said in the speaker that they had lost a door, they don’t know if they lost it in the air on the flight before or what, very scary.
Birds flew into both of the engines.
See? This is why I never sit in seats 16A or 16C.
Huh… When I was a flight attendant and we had to practice ditching drills (water evacuations), they always told us that it was rare that you could use the skill since most times when a plane crashes into water it breaks into thousands of pieces. They even showed us lots of footage of planes crashing into water and cartwheeling then breaking apart in incredible clouds of plane and people.
Looks like this one worked out pretty well. Thank God they train pilots to glide without engines. Great job U.S. Airways. It could be attributed to the fact that they have laid off all of the junior pilots and only very senior, experienced pilots remain.
I think when I was watching on the news this afternoon, they mentioned that the pilot treated the river as a runway. Idk why but I think that just sounds like the coolest thing ever. And scary!
That is really weird timing – I was just reading the “About the Editor” page on Beet’s “Sasha is a Monster” site and she mentions how dangerous it is to fly – and then this! God, how awful! I’m so glad everyone is okay. Those people must have been so terrified.
I hope the birds survived.
Seeing as how they flew into the engines, I seriously doubt it.
It’s funny how two 15 pound birds can bring down a $60,000,000 plane. Thank God everyone was fine.
well, everyone that is, except the birds. :-)
Can you imagine the shit that must’ve been going through people’s minds as they watched this happen? Especially in NYC?!?!?!
BASH=Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard
Uh, don’t you think you should credit the photog on that picture? As far as I know, he hasn’t sold the rights to it.
Man, this story is so amazing and such a miracle.
By the way, have fun doing your half marathon! I am in Arizona and wish I’d signed up for it; a lot of my friends are running it.
THIS is why everyone in Jersey hates geese. those M F’ers are EVERYWHERE.
but yet it’s illegal to run one over, but its ok if they attack airplanes..
Are you in Jersey? If so, does it bother you at all that they keep saying “New York’s Hudson river”? It’s Jersey’s river too dangit!! Why does everyone ignore poor Jersey??
haha.. because you guys are like our backyard. Only good for malls
No..New york can have that river. it’s cool.
jersey is WAYYYYY too classy to be mad over something like that lol
Right, Classy is the first word that comes to mind when someone mentions New Jersey.
@ me (^^^):
HDU!!!
Good luck with your marathon! The weather was gorgeous when I was there earlier this week (my fiancee lives in Gilbert; long distance relationshiper here) and it’s supposed to get even warmer this weekend!
Run, Beet, Run! :)
I don’t know…I lived on that river for a while and it kinda felt like mine. Granted, it was Bayonne and not a scenic water scape that I am particularly proud of…but it doesn’t belong to those snobs in Manhattan. We can sink bodies to the bottom of it from Jersey too!
This accident should, if you consider it, help. First, it proves a plane can glide. If proves a plane can land in the water. But it also is the one time in fifty years that birds have brought down an airline. Worry about it again in fifty years. There is more on this at my blog at http://www.fearofflying.com/wordpress