It was strange that when first seen by witnesses, the US Airways A320 was facing northwards. The tail was facing south. Since the aircraft approached from the north, shouldn't the nose be facing south? A news moderator said that the Hudson River current turned the aircraft around but it sounds strange that it could happen within moments of ditching. Any thoughts about this?

It's not a big deal for the plane to have turned in any direction while floating. Anything floating without power in the water can turn just with the current.

I heard that the Airbus will be hoisted later today but no mention of where it would be brought to. I am curious to see if both engines endured bird strikes. Nice idea about keeping the Airbus aboard the Intrepid but there's no room for it there and I don't think it would be be good advertising for US Airways. The aircraft is historic, no doubt, and should be put on display maybe at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. I want to see the heroic pilot, nicknamed Sully, be honored by a parade as well as be invited to sit on the podium at next Tuesdays' Inauguration. This guy saved over 100 lives and is a real hero.

I also like the idea of towing the Airbus over to JFK's Hangar 19 for examination. Isn't that where the Concorde was de-commissioned, too 5 years ago? Another possibility if JFK is not feasible is to tow it to the Bayonne dock, which is much closer. I think the aircraft is now off Battery park City near Stuyvestant HS.

No doubt, Capt Sullenberger did a superb job. Lucky too that the wind was north and LGA approaches were not flying northbound over the Hudson for the Rwy 22 Approach. Where could he put his aircraft down if aircraft were filling the airspace over the Hudson? Also on his side was the visibility. The morning snowfall would have obliterated his view of the Hudson and I dread to think of the outcome. By 1500, the visibility was nearly unlimited with just some scattered clouds.

One news report said the bird strike happened at around altitude 3200 feet rather than immediately after take-off. This would explain the normal departure including an increase in altitude until passing over the Bronx Zoo & Garden. Altitude over Bronx Park was 3200'(Passur) and immediately after, the aircraft banked towards the Hudson River and lost altitude quickly. It was at only 1700' while passing Inwood Hill, Manhattan.

Four posts in a row, five our of the first 6 on this page alone. I think that's a new record, Speedbird. Three of them with already-mentioned info. Your percentage is improving!

If LGA was operating 22 for arrivals, then it might have been difficult for the US jet to depart on rwy 4, and from a different runway, it wouldn't have been near the Hudson like it was anyway. I didn't look at the winds, but northern winds would have been somewhat helpful.

I was told that the pilot pitched the nose up very high at the last second, letting the tail drag the water, slowing the plane down so to not rip the engines off once they hit as well. Jet engines' shape scoop up the water when entering it, and when at decent speed, will rip off of the plane. Or worse, rip teh wing off. If this plane has no wings, it probably would not have floated like it did, and would have been disasterous. Anything less than what happened, and it woudl have gotten very messy very easily.

People say "Wow, good pilot", but when you see the skill actually applied, you learn how talented this guy really was.

Why no pictures of the aircraft from the street? You guys went-out in freezing conditions to take a few photos and were told no photos. If you were standing behind the barrier there should be no problem. How could taking photos do any harm? On the other hand, the press could get up-close. This is an example of basic freedoms we have lost since 9-11. Of course, we know who to thank for that! This reminds me of how we were harrassed while trying to take photos of the final Concorde landing at JFK.

Would have been nice, if all of the kudos would have gone out to the entire crew, or, at a minimum, to the cockpit crew.

Without the pilot in the right seat & the pilot in the left working together as a team, the airplane would have never landed in one piece the way it did.....

The Cabin Crew did a nice job handling the passengers!

Big sky theory man. In an emergency you do what you need to do to get the aircraft down. In VMC conditions you hope that if ATC doesn't/can't provide separation, that the other aircraft will see you and avoid you.

Also, unlikely scenario because if LGA bound aircraft were flying up the hudson, they would most likely be using 22 for landing, meaning no rwy 4 departures.

Is the ditching button unique to the A320? One of the news reports said that this aircraft has a "Ditching Button" which closes all valves below the flotation line. Is it really unique to only Airbus? Don't Boeing aircraft include this feature? I also heard that the A320 is unable to "dump" fuel. I took it for granted that all aircraft could "dump" fuel in emergencies.

Most engines are designed to shear off of the aircraft in cases such as these. Whether they did or not in this case, I'm not sure, but the fact that he didn't catch one wing on the water and flip and violently break up is remarkable. The guy is a certified glider instructor (not sure how current he is on this, since he probably was certified back at the Academy in the 1970s), but all of his skills combined along with his extensive experience and knowledge of the aircraft and flight environment and little bit of luck is really what saved his aircraft. Many kudos to this guy!

I can only speak for the 757 and 767, which do in fact have a ditch switch.

Air France A340 - Canada
Continental 737 - Denver
US Air A320 - NYC

3 MAJOR accidents
No fatalities or even "serious injuries"

Are we seeing a pattern here?

To add to this, I'm really happy for the guy and his aviation safety business. He just got the ultimate form of word of mouth that any business will ever have.



I read this on anet and felt that, in a way, it discredits the pilot.




Would anyone care to comment on what was said?


OH, and to Fred and Moose, you guys are the bomb. As I lay me down to sleep at 11:10 PM, I know that somewhere, out there, if there is some av event going on, you guys OWN it!