Flight Recorders Recovered, Sent To DC For Evaluation
Workers successfully raised the wrecked hulk of US airways Flight
1549 from the Hudson River Saturday night, placing it on a barge
for transport to a suitable location for further examination.
The A320's left engine, which was sheared off by the impact of
the water landing, has been located on the river's bottom by sonar.
Recovery of the engine from the icy waters is expected to commence
as soon as possible.
ABC News reports investigators have also located the plane's
"black boxes" -- the flight data recorder and cockpit voice
recorder -- and sent them off to the National Transportation Safety
Board's Washington, DC labs for analysis.
As ANN reported, US Airways Flight 1549
ditched in the Hudson River last Thursday after losing power from
both engines simultaneously minutes after takeoff from
LaGuardia Airport. Although the investigation is just getting
underway, interviews with the crew and passengers have revealed
much about their harrowing experience.
Describing the series of events leading to the airliner's
ditching, NTSB spokesperson Kitty Higgins said that First Officer
Jeffrey Skiles was doing the flying as the plane took off from New
York's LaGuardia Airport just before 3:30 pm last Thursday.
As the Airbus climbed through 3,000 feet, Skiles noticed a
formation of birds to starboard. Captain Chesley "Sully"
Sullenberger looked up just in time to see big, dark brown birds
filling the windscreen. Sullenberger said his first instinct was
to... "duck."
Next, the crew smelled something burning and then both engines
lost power. A flight attendant said the eerie silence was "like
being in a library." It was then that Sullenberger took the
controls and weighed his options.
The pilot declared an emergency, telling controllers, "We have
lost thrust in both engines; we are turning back to LaGuardia," but
soon realized returning was not feasible. "The Captain decided no,
too low, too slow, too many buildings, too populated an area,"
Higgins said.
Another alternative Sullenberger considered was a small airport
near Teterboro, NJ. "It was farther away," said Higgins. "He'd
never been there, didn't think he could make it and was concerned
that if he didn't make it, it was also a populated area ... the
consequences would have been catastrophic."
The best choice soon became clear. The captain told controllers,
"We're gonna be in the Hudson." Higgins said, "He made a decision
to land near a vessel to improve chances for recovery."
Just prior to settling into the water, Sullenberger told his
passengers to "brace for impact," as flight attendants called out,
"Brace, brace, heads down." A flight attendant said the impact felt
like a hard landing with no bounce.
Flight attendants recalled shouting to passengers, "Leave
everything, come forward, put on life vests." Then they opened the
forward doors and deployed the evacuation slides - which also
function as life rafts. A flight attendant was able to manually
inflate one of the slides that did not automatically inflate.
Sullenberger lauded the performance of his courageous crew. "He
could not be more happy that everyone got off the plane safely,"
said Higgins.