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US Airways Airbus A320-214 plane crash

New York, USA
US Airways Airbus A320-214 plane crash - New York, USA

Key facts

Airline
US Airways
Aircraft
Airbus A320-214
Location
New York, USA
Date
15th January, 2009
People on board
153
Fatality
0

Updated on

Accident account

The Airbus A320 operated by US Airways jet en route to Charlotte, N.C, USA, from New York City, USA, crashed into the Hudson River off the west side of Manhattan with 150 passengers and five crew members. All of the people on board had managed to escape alive.

Within three minutes of take-off the plane was in trouble. A loud bang came from close to the wings on both sides as it hit a flock of geese, and smoke and fire began to appear from the engines. The plane's pilot reported a bird strike and declared an emergency. As the Airbus A320 quickly banked south, the plane lost power and rapidly dropped altitude, heading towards the icy waters of the Hudson river. The crew attempted a ditching. It was a slow contact with the water, and the plane remained in one part, and rapidly stopped in the water. The A320 was then rapidly submerged in the icy waters up to the windows. Rescue crews pulled passengers in yellow life vests from the plane. Several boats surrounded the scene.


A320 ditching on the Hudson - Record of radio communications

Enregistrement des conversations entre l’A320 de US Airways (appelé «<i>Cactus 1549</i>») et les contrôleurs aériens.<br>Bien que ses moteurs ne développaient presque plus de puissance et que son avion planait irrémédiablement sans pouvoir atteindre aucune piste, le commandant de bord communiquait avec les contrôleurs aériens en gardant un calme remarquable. Lorsque le commandant de bord annonça qu’il allait amerrir dans l’Hudson, le contrôleur fut tellement surpris qu’il lui faudra quelques secondes avant de répondre un «<i>Pouvez-vous répéter Cactus</i>». Et à partir de ce moment l’équipage ne fut plus entendu.
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VIDEO SEQUENCE

A320 ditching on the Hudson, New York

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Footage of the US Airways A320 ditching in the Hudson River on January 15th 2009. This video was shot by US Coast Guard cameras
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Birds can fly into plane engines, damaging them or even shutting them down, or cause pilots to lose control of the plane by damaging the plane’s control surfaces or by penetrating the windshield.

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Accident location

The aircraft (Airbus A320-214)

Aircraft similar to the one which crashed (Airbus A320-214)
Aircraft similar to the one which crashed (Airbus A320-214)