By Howard Koplowitz and Jeremy Walsh
A US Airways jetliner that took off from LaGuardia Airport Thursday afternoon made an emergency landing in the frigid Hudson River minutes after liftoff, and it appears all 155 people on board were safely rescued by ferries that quickly arrived at the scene, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
US Airways Flight 1549 had 150 passengers and five crew on board when it departed LaGuardia at 3:03 p.m., the airline said in a statement. Moments later, the pilot guided the plane to land in the Hudson after it appeared the plane was having engine trouble. The plane appeared to be intact after the landing.
There were reports that two birds flew into the Airbus A320, disabling both of its engines, but Bloomberg said the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.
“It would appear the pilot did a masterful job,” Bloomberg said during a news conference at New York Waterway’s Midtown ferry terminal.
The mayor said the pilot walked the length of the aircraft twice after the water landing to verify everyone escaped safely. Bloomberg said most passengers moved to the plane’s wings to be rescued while a couple others were in the water.
“It wasn’t like a movie,” said Terrence Maxwell, a deckhand on a ferry that was docked in New Jersey at the time. “It just hit. The pilot, he did a good job.”
Boats from New York Waterway and Circle Line Ferry arrived minutes after the crash to rescue the 155 on board, which included an infant. Some of the rescued passengers were brought to hospitals in Manhattan to be treated for minor injuries and hypothermia, while others were carried to the New Jersey side of the river, the mayor said.
“I turned around, saw the plane in the water, and I reacted,” said Capt. Vince Lombardi, 32, whose ferry, the Thomas Jefferson, was the first boat at the scene. “You die from hypothermia after about five minutes out there.” Water in the Hudson was 36 degrees Thursday, officials said.
Wilfredo Rivera, 26, a deckhand on the Thomas Jefferson, said his boat reached the stricken airliner about two and a half minutes after it crashed, rescuing 56 passengers.
“Everybody was upset, nervous, crying, screaming, ‘We’re gonna die,’” he said. “It was unbelievable.”
But Rivera and the crews of at least 13 other water craft managed to scoop up the sodden travelers and bring them safely to shore.
“The most important thing … is all the passengers got out safe, we think,” the mayor said.
Gov. David Paterson said the handling of the emergency was nothing short of miraculous.
“We had a miracle on 34th Street. I believe now we have a miracle on the Hudson,” he said. “This is a day to realize how blessed this city is.”
Alan Warren, the director of ferry operations for New York Waterway, said the company had four boats immediately on-site to respond to the accident.
“We don’t think,” he said. “We just react.”
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
