The pilot, hoping against hope that they were wrong, continued until one by one the engines quit. The navigator of the flight, whom I knew, said that they sat listening as the engines went silent and then started down, the altimeter slowly and hesitantly unwinding. The lights were on in the main cabin that had been fitted up for travel, and the plane's landing lights were on. In their brightness, as they neared the water, the large black swells of the ocean could be seen.
The plane started into a trough but then the wingtip hit a wave and, lights still on, as in the Titanic, the plane started up in a big cartwheel. They could hear the rivets singing as they tore from the metal of the wing, the navigator said, and over the plane went, plunging into darkness.
He survived, in a life vest, floating with some others in the ocean until the next day, but the ambassador, George Atcheson, and the draft treaty did not. Sullenberger's first announcement to the cabin, when the die had been cast and they were going to end up in the river, was "This is the captain. Brace for impact. The order came as a surprise to nearly everyone. One man said out loud, "What does that mean?
The most astute passengers had known for a while that they were descending over the Hudson, and would not be returning to LaGuardia, but some had held out hope that they were headed for Newark instead. Now they knew that the airplane was going to crash into the river. The flight attendants did not know it, because They therefore reacted purely by rote, chanting, "Brace!
Heads down! Stay down! A man in the back had the poise and presence of mind to call out, "Exit row people, get ready! The man next to her asked if he could brace her son for her, and she passed the child to him, and he did. In the cockpit the ground warning alarm had begun, an automatic voice repeating that the plane was too low.
Sullenberger called for the flaps on the wings to be extended in order to slow the plane for impact. At two hundred feet he began breaking his glide and ballooned a little. They were at knots--about miles an hour. He lowered the nose slightly and then, pulling back on the stick in the last few seconds before touching down, his airspeed spent, remarked coolly to Skiles, "Got any ideas?
They touched the water at an optimum angle, nose slightly high, knots. The left engine tore away, the plane's belly ripped open toward the rear, and the aircraft skimmed to a stop. There was such heavy spray that the passengers near the windows thought they had gone entirely underwater. The evacuation of the plane was all one could hope for. Water entered quickly. There was an eighty-five-year-old woman who needed a walker, plus several children aboard.
In the rear, the floor had buckled and a beam had broken through. There was more water there; it rose to almost chest-high before everyone was out. The flight had been sold out--only one empty seat. The flight attendants, three women all in their fifties, were exemplary. Doreen Welsh, the oldest, in the rear, had the greatest difficulties and was seriously injured. People tried to swim in the river, some slipped into the water and were pulled back, all ended up standing on the wings, some waist deep in water, or in the inflated slides and rafts.
Sullenberger and Skiles had all along been moving through the cabin assisting and handing out life vests. In the end Sullenberger went through the deep water in the cabin one last time to make certain no one was left. Clip Brace For Impact. Two Hundred And Eight Seconds. On The Hudson. I Eyeballed It. Interview Mike O Malley. Captain Chesley Sullenberger. Photos Top cast Edit. Gary Weeks Reporter 3 as Reporter 3. Molly Bernard Alison as Alison. Clint Eastwood.
More like this. Watch options. Storyline Edit. On Thursday, January 15, , the world witnessed the "Miracle on the Hudson" when pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the frigid waters of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all one hundred fifty-five aboard.
Real Estate Technology Cars Columns. Print Share fb Share Tweet Email. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Chesley B. It took the site from a relatively unknown collection of aircraft for aviation enthusiasts to a place of national significance. Visitors to Carolinas Aviation Museum were able to not only see the plane but also witness passenger testimonies and find out more about the dramatic accident.
However, while the aircraft lavished in new-found fame, a twist of fate now sees the aircraft in storage. Carolinas Aviation Museum is currently closed while it searches for a new hangar to host its collection. For two and a half years, NUS will be closed for public viewings until a new location can be found ahead of reopening in Journalist - A graduate in English and Spanish with a background in journalism, Laura has a passion for the environment and the future sustainability of aviation.
Based in the UK.
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