Hudson River Swallowed US Airways Plane

A US Airways flight from LaGuardia Airport in New York went down in the Hudson River this afternoon with 155 passengers and crew on board, and rescuers moved quickly to remove everyone from the plane as it gradually settled into the frigid water.

Authorities said there were no fatalities and that all aboard got off safely.

Flight 1549, an Airbus A320, appeared to make a controlled landing in the water shortly after takeoff from New York bound for Charlotte, N.C.

Television news footage showed the aircraft resting apparently intact in the water as ferries and rescue vessels surrounded it and helicopters flew overhead.

Inflatable boats were deployed to carry passengers from the plane to the nearby vessels.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, Laura Brown, said, "My understanding is that everyone is alive. I don't know if there are any serious injuries or not."

Brown said the plane appeared to have hit one or more birds on takeoff. Initial accounts indicated the airliner lost both engines.

"We understand there were eyewitness reports that the plane might have flown into a flock of birds," Brown said.

But Ellen Howe, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, confirmed only that there was "no known nexus to terrorism" in the downing.

A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, Laura Keehner said, "There is no information at this time to indicate that this is a security-related incident. We continue to closely monitor the situation, which at present is focused on search and rescue."

Alberto Panero, a passenger on the plane, told CNN in a telephone interview that everyone on the plane was "pretty much okay" after the impact.

"This was a near-death experience that thankfully did not turn out that way," he said.

Quoted from Washington Post. Go To Source