breaking news, NYC

[lagilman]

for those of you off the grapevine, a US Airways plane went down in the Hudson River just now. They're saying that it looks like they ran into trouble right away, and the pilot made the choice to do a controlled crash into the river, rather than risk a fully-fueled plane hit the Very Populated Areas on either side o the river (in Manhattan and NJ).

The plane is intact, observers say they saw at least one flotation slide inflate, and emergency vehicles responded immediately, so here's hoping for the best.

(this was near the Intrepid, for those who know NYC geography)

And yes, "a plane went down" can still send locals into a state of OMGWTF rushing for the tv/radio/news website.

Update: word is, the plane hit a flock of geese that damaged the engines. Can we now PLEASE get rid of the damn things as a menace?

EtA: and this, boys and girls, is why you listen to the emergency instructions before you settle in for your nap. Or, at very least, make note of where the exits are when you sit down.

EtA2: all cold, wet, and banged up, but reportedly okay. Kudos not only to the plane crew, but to the ferry operators who diverted to do rescue work, and the folk of the NYPD and NYFD, who were on the scene before the news crews were (I think the response time was something like 7 minutes!) Also: anyone who normally takes the ferry home? Might want to stay in NYC for dinner tonight. Commute's gonna be FUBAR'd, since every ferry in reach seemingly got diverted for rescue duty...




(The Swivet has a better shot, but it won't load here. Please note steerage passengers standing on the wing, while First Class is loaded into a life raft....)

Comments

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

I saw it in my breaking news email.

CNN Live on TV has a passenger on, he's fairly certain that EVERYONE has been taken off/ made it off the plane.

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

And YES, he says there was initial panic, but that everyone settled down and started following directions as they were told.
Kudos to that flight crew.

[lagilman]

Yeah -- they're saying it was a textbook example of an emergency water ditching, especially considering the skyscrapers and limited airspace available (they had just taken off from LGA). Kudos to the pilot and crew.

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Yup, that's what the 2nd passenger is saying, that it was very gentle, relatively short in how long it took to set down.

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

It's surreal seeing photos of people standing on the wings, with lifejackets, waiting for the ferries.