US Airways Flight 1549 Accident on the Hudson River - Essay Example

US Airways Flight 1549 Accident on the Hudson River US Airways Flight 1549 was a commercial flight which took off from the New York to North Carolina on 15th January 2009. It was successfully ditched on the Hudson River which was adjacent to the midtown Manhattan only after 6 minutes once it took off. It was struck by a flock of Geese as it climbed to achieve height. Indeed the US Airways Flight 1549 was due to a bird strike which happened at the north end of the George Washington Bridge only after 3 minutes of the flight had gone by.

There was a complete loss of thrust in both the engines of the commercial aircraft. There were 150 passengers and 5 cabin staff on board this Airbus A320 flight. Fortunately all the 155 people on board were survivors as they were evacuated safely which remained intact on the water. It was partially submerged and began to sink slowly. However the 155 people on board were swiftly rescued by the watercraft which was close by. Due to the valiant effort of the US Airways Flight 1549, it was awarded the Master’s Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators.

First Officer Skiles was present within the Control Tower when the US Airways Flight 1549 took off. He was the first to notice that there was a formation of many birds which were approaching the flight only about a couple of minutes in advance. The altitude at this point in time was 3,200 feet. The collision happened at 3:27 pm which made the windscreen of the flight turn into a dark brown color and hence a number of loud thuds were felt and heard at the same time. Both engines had a number of birds within them and thus the thrust of the US Airways Flight 1549 was lost instantly.

Captain Sullenberger made sure that the controls were under his folds while First Officer Skiles went through the 3 page procedural checklist which was related with emergencies under such situations. There was a dire attempt to restart the engines so that the US Airways Flight 1549 could grab control of its own self, but sadly this was not to be. The US Airways Flight 1549 lasted for just 6 minutes after which it landed in the Hudson River. It was heading south at around 130 knots in the center of the North River section of the Hudson River.

The Captain chose a location for ditching within the sea which was close to operating boats so that the rescue effort could be warranted. For the ditching matter, the US Airways Flight 1549 has been remarked as one of the most successful ditching achievements in the aviation industry (Hollon 2009). There were only 5 serious injuries and another 73 people were treated for minor injuries and hypothermia. This is in essence one of the most successful case examples of an airplane that was rescued after a series of bird strikes.

Works Cited Hollon, John. Lessons from Flight 1549. Workforce Management, Vol. 88, February 16, 2009