Flight 1549 took off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City at 3:25 PM on January 16, 2009. This flight was on its way to Charlotte, North Carolina and then on to Seattle-Tacoma, Washington. At the time of take off Jeffrey B. Skiles, first officer was at the controls along with Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and three flight attendants. There were also 150 passengers aboard, one of which was in a wheelchair.
About two minutes after take off Skiles noticed the birds flying toward them and then they hit the plane, killing the engines. At that time Sullenberger took over the controls while Skiles tried to restart the engines. Sully also radioed what had happened and asked to return. He was told that he could but decided it could not be done and asked to land in New Jersey. He was again given permission but by that time decided that he did not have enough altitude in order to make it to the airport. That was when he decided the best alternative would be to land on the Hudson River and he wanted to land where there was some watercraft activity in the area in order for people to be close enough to assist in the rescue operation.
About six minutes after take off Sully landed the plane on the Hudson and evacuation began. In less than four minutes the first watercraft was there to help with the evacuation. All 155 aboard the aircraft were rescued with only 15 having to be treated at the hospital, some for minor injuries and some for hypothermia. Others were treated at a triage center. This event has been labeled the “Miracle on the Hudson” and has been said to the most successful ditching in aviation history.
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