When the plane landed on the water - 155 How to save lives?

When the plane landed on the water - 155 How to save lives?

January 15, 2009 will always be remembered in the history of aviation. On that day, US Airlines Flight 1549 took off from New York's La Guardia Airport. The flight was bound for Charleville, North Carolina. There were 148 passengers on board.

The three-cabin Airbus A320 took to the skies at 3:26 p.m., but in a matter of moments, a large bird drove into the jet and the engines stopped working. The plane was flying near the Hudson River at the time.

The plane had not yet fully recovered and was floating in the air like a glider after the engine stopped.

The plane was being flown by Captain Chesley Burnett Sohnberger. They had very little time to decide. He informed the control tower about the accident and said that he wanted to make an emergency landing. The control tower instructed them to land at the nearby Tetterborough Airport.

He calmly replied that the plane was running out of power and could not reach the runway. He then informed the control tower of his thinking that I was landing on the Hudson River.

Capt. Sohnberger explains that the interval between engine failure and landing was just three and a half minutes. These were the hardest moments of his life. He was responsible for the lives of 155 people. He regained consciousness and began to lower the plane as it turned towards the middle of the river.

Captain Sohnberger then told the plane's 150 frightened passengers and five crew members: "We're landing on the river, get ready to take the shock."

Ninety seconds later, Sohnberger glided the Airbus 320 over the George Washington Bridge in New York, landing in the middle of the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey.

It was a cold afternoon on January 15 and the air was clear after the morning snowfall. The Hudson River was as cold as ice. After a few jolts, the plane floated on the water and slowly sank.

The crew instructed passengers to wear life jackets and exit through the emergency gates to the wings of the plane. A large pleasure boat floating in the Hudson River, which was close to the crash site, rushed to the rescue and passengers began boarding it. Then other boats and rescue workers arrived on the scene and began to help the passengers get out safely.

The last person to get out of the sinking plane was Captain Sohnberger.

Only one passenger's leg bones were broken in the accident, some suffered minor injuries and some caught a cold. But, the lives of all the passengers were safe.

The crash is considered to be one of the most important events in the history of aviation in which the captain's present mental and timely decision saved the lives of all the people on board the plane.

New York Governor David Peterson called the incident a "miracle of the Hudson River."

Before becoming a commercial pilot, Sohnberger had extensive experience flying fighter jets. He had served in the army for 35 years, which helped save the lives of passengers in the crash.

Sohnberger was honored as a hero for this historic feat and was invited as a guest at Barack Obama's inauguration as president. The US Congress passed a resolution praising Sohnberger.