Reports are coming in that a plane has crashed in the Hudson River, between Piers 88 and 92 (West 48th-West 52nd Streets; U.S.S. Intrepid is at Pier 86). The newscasts are reporting that it's a US Airways (twin-engine) flight.
Divers are picking up passengers, who are in life rafts. A New York Waterway ferries are on the scene, also trying to help. The plane was reportedly heading from LaGuardia Airport; the plane is floating south. Injuries are unknown at this time; there were over 70 passengers. The flight was US Airways 1549 (from NYC to Charlotte, NC), an Airbus A320, that took off from LGA at 3:11 p.m.
Some reports suggest that a flock of geese hit the plane.(1)
The plane was submerged in the icy waters up to the windows. Rescue crews had opened the door and were pulling passengers in yellow life vests from the plane. Several boats surrounded the plane, which appeared to be slowly sinking.
New York City firefighters are responding to the crash. It was not immediately clear if there were injuries.
"I saw what appeared to be a tail fin of a plane sticking out of the water," said Erica Schietinger, whose office windows at Chelsea Piers look out over the Hudson. "All the boats have sort of circled the area. ... I can't tell what's what at this point." (AP)
Several tourist boats and ferries quickly came to the aid of the downed jet, rescuing stranded passengers who had managed to get out onto the wings of the aircraft. U.S. Coast Guard ships and helicopters also responded.
No deaths or serious injuries have been reported.
Jeff Kolodjay, a rescued passenger from Norwalk, Connecticut was headed to North Carolina on a golf trip when the plane went down.
"The engine blew out about three minutes into the flight," he said. "We circled around and saw we were in line with the Hudson [River]. The captain came on [the plane's public address system] and said, 'Look, we're going down, brace for impact.' And everyone kind of looked at each other and said some prayers. I said about five 'Our Fathers' and five 'Hail Marys' and we hit the water."
U.S. Airways Chairman Doug Parker said preliminary information indicates that everyone is off the plane and accounted for and that the airline would cooperate with authorities in their investigation.
"It is premature to speculate about the cause of this accident," he said. "The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct a thorough investigation to determine the probable cause with our complete support and the support of many others."
Federal Aviation Authorities say they are looking to retrieve the plane's "black box" recorder for more information on the cause of the crash. (2)
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