USAir’s Flight 1549 made a controlled splashdown in the Hudson River this afternoon. As I type this it looks like everyone got out safely.
Weather wasn’t a problem. Light snow was gone by the time the flight took off. The winds were moderate.
Flight 1549 was cleared for a BIGGY departure, taking off on Runway 2, heading basically north with a left turn scheduled. The plane flew over the western end of Long Island Sound, over the Bronx then sharply south over the Hudson River north of the George Washington Bridge.
Because this sort of thing has a tendency to disappear I’m attaching the flight track from FlightAware.com.
03:26PM 40.80 -73.87 151 1800 level New York TRACON 03:27PM 40.83 -73.87 174 2800 climbing New York TRACON 03:27PM 40.86 -73.88 194 3200 climbing New York Center 03:28PM 40.88 -73.90 202 2000 descending New York TRACON 03:28PM 40.86 -73.93 215 1600 descending New York Center 03:29PM 40.83 -73.95 194 1200 descending New York TRACON 03:29PM 40.82 -73.97 191 1300 climbing New York Center 03:30PM 40.78 -74.00 189 400 descending New York TRACON 03:31PM 40.75 -74.02 153 300 descending New York TRACON
So glad this story had a happy ending. The pilots and flight attendants did an amazing job in ensuring everyone’s safety.
I am stunned that the aircraft didn’t break apart upon touchdown. That is a miracle in itself.
Great explanation of the flight path and on posting the credentials of the Captain. What a guy!
-Mike
Geoff,
I praise the pilot but what a lot of people don’t realise is that in this type of situation, the airlines have established crash zones like this. A perfect example is that 4-5 airlines carry their New England routes over Fairfield county. If they are going to crash while approaching from the north, the plan is to splashdown into Candlewood Lake. And of course, someone had a “clicky” of their own, as there are AP pictures showing the plane as it came in.