US Airways Flight 1549 Airbus A320

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US Airways Flight 1549 Airbus A320
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Chesley B. Sullenberger III, the US Airways pilot
who made an emergency landing in the Hudson,
left. At right, he is seen during his days as an
Air Force Academy cadet.
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The Airbus A320 has a ditching button that closes
all valves and openings underneath the aircraft
to slow the rate of flooding
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Some passengers screamed, others tucked their
heads between their knees, and several prayed
over and over, Lord, forgive me for my sins.
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By landing successfully on water, the captain
"achieved one of the rarest and most technically
challenging feats in commercial aviation, A
board member of the NTSB stated that it "has to
go down as the most successful ditching in
aviation history."
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Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger, III, age 58,
joined US Airways (PSA Airlines) in 1980. He has
a total of 19,663 flight hours. First officer
Jeffrey B. Skiles, age 49, joined US Airways
(USAir) in 1986. He has a total of 15,643 flight
hours.
Flight Attendant Sheila Dail, age 57, joined US
Airways (Piedmont Airlines) in 1980 and has more
than 28 years experience with the airline.
Flight Attendant Doreen Welsh, age 58, joined US
Airways (Allegheny Airlines) in 1970 and has more
than 38 years experience with the airline.Flight
Attendant Donna Dent, age 51, joined US Airways
(Piedmont Airlines) in 1982 and has more than 26
years experience with the airline.
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A flight attendant broke a leg, but most people
were unharmed except for suffering from the cold.
Ferries rescued passengers from the wings, where
they stood in 20 degree Fahrenheit weather, their
feet dipping into water of 41 degrees F.
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As the plane began sinking, Sullenberger walked
the aisle twice to make sure no one was left
behind, Bloomberg said.
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There was the woman in a fur coat who asked a
stranger to go back inside the sinking plane to
fetch her purse.
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Inside, as if heeding one collective thought,
everyone moved to the rear of the cabin, only to
find the exit doors there locked tight and water
rising as the tail dipped below the surface. If
that door opened, everything would go under,
said Brad Wentzell, 31, a patio-door salesman
from Charlotte
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"The bulk of this event was over in 10 minutes,"
said Raymond Kelly, New York police commissioner.
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Three minutes after the first alert, police had
commandeered a Circle Line boat that only minutes
before was taking sightseers on a leisurely tour
of New York's landmarks. The officers directed it
toward the sinking plane.
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"After the crash, the pilot was sitting in the
ferry terminal, wearing his hat, sipping his
coffee and acting like nothing happened," one
police source told the New York Daily News.
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The last person to leave the plane was
Sullenberger. As he boarded a ferry he clutched a
clipboard with the list of passengers.
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Within five minutes of the call a police
helicopter was also hovering above the scene. A
detective, a trained diver, was lowered into the
frigid water. He swam to a disoriented female
passenger clinging to the side of a ferry and
helped her to safety on another boat.
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Aviation experts said they could not recall
another successful controlled water landing by a
commercial airliner in the U.S.
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His gray hair was unruffled, and his blue pilots
uniform had barely a wrinkle. His tie wasnt
even loosened, said Ed Skyler, a deputy mayor of
New York City
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The pilot is a boon for an airline that has filed
for bankruptcy twice in recent years and has been
plagued by publicity nightmares. Two Christmases
ago, US Airways lost 75,000 bags, some not found
for months. Last year it became the first airline
to charge for coffee, tea and bottled water.