On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 as a daily flight, Airbus A320, from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Charlotte, North Carolina for transit, and then to Seattle, 90 seconds after takeoff was hit by Big Bird and broke two engines.
On 15 January, the weather was good enough to fly, with Captain Sully and co-pilot sitting in their respective cockpits, with three cabin attendants and 150 passengers outside the cockpit.
In the eyes of everyone, this is a very ordinary flight, but no one expected that at an altitude of 3200 feet 90 seconds after takeoff, several big birds suddenly rushed out of the front and crashed straight into the engine, and when the crew reacted, the engines on both sides of the plane had already emitted black smoke, and the pungent smell entered the cabin.
The passengers on the plane also saw the burning engine through the window, but fortunately, the flight attendant came out in time to calm the passengers' emotions and did not cause much panic.
The plane, which had lost thrust, could not maintain altitude, and Captain Sully quickly contacted the tower to find an airfield landing. The co-pilot opens the on-board manual and looks for a solution to the engine failure. Following the instructions in the manual, the duo tried to restart the engine, which ultimately failed.
At this point, the tower called Flight 1549 to point them to the airports and runways where they could land. The tower provided a total of 2 airfields and 4 runways, but they were all rejected by Captain Sully, who completely lost contact 23 seconds after the captain told him that he was about to land on the Hudson River.
Captain Sully felt that the plane was no longer enough to return to the airport, and if it was forced to return, the plane was likely to crash into a densely populated neighborhood.
With nowhere to go, Sullenberg set his sights on the Hudson River.
Forced landing on the Hudson River, neither of them was 100% sure of this bold proposal, but in order to minimize the damage, there was not so much time to think in an emergency.
With the cooperation of the two, the aircraft flew over the Hudson River channel and slowly descended in a gliding manner, the tail first touched the water, and then taxied with the belly contact the water surface, the left engine of the aircraft fell off and sank to the bottom of the river during the river taxi, the aircraft touched the water and taxied forward for hundreds of meters before suspending the water, and the fuselage remained roughly intact.
After the plane came to a complete stop, the crew immediately organized passengers to leave the plane from the various emergency exits and stood on the wings, and the captain left the plane after completing the final inspection to ensure that there was no one in the cabin.
Soon after, rescue teams and various boats arrived and successfully rescued all the personnel on the plane.
This thrilling forced landing shocked the world, and the subsequent flight accident investigation turned out to be really just because of the big birds that crashed into the aircraft engine - the Canadian black geese with wings nearly 2 meters long.
Relevant agencies also simulated the situation at that time, if returning to the airport, the plane will most likely fall in the downtown area and make a forced landing on the water, which is an option that can minimize damage.
The flight took less than 6 minutes from take-off to landing, and it was the superb flight skills and adaptability of these two captains, as well as the cooperation of all parties, that saved the flight and even more people.