Miracle on the Hudson: US Air Jet Makes Emergency Landing in Frigid Hudson River, but No Lives were Lost

Aimee Herd : Jan 16, 2009
News Staff – FOX News

"Thank the Lord, and thank the pilot!?

(New York)?Thanks to the quick thinking and skills of the US Airways pilots flying Flight 1549?and the crew?all the lives on board were apparently spared when the jet was forced to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, on Thursday afternoon.

According to officials, preliminary word said birds flew into two of the jet engines causing them to malfunction. Reports commended the pilots for landing the plane ?as a glider would land? skimming the water with the landing gear up to keep the aircraft from breaking up.

Shortly after the plane landed, passengers were ushered out onto the wings, which were partially submerged, clutching yellow life vests. Before long, boats and ferries circled the jet, rescuing passengers as the plane began to sink in the icy river water.

?A couple of minutes after takeoff, we just heard a loud bang," described passenger Alberto Panero, according to a CNN report. ?The plane shook a bit and... you could smell smoke and fire and immediately the plane started turning," Panero said. "All of a sudden, the captain came on and said, 'Brace for landing,' and that's when we knew we were going down.?

There were 155 passengers with crew on board the Airbus A320. Although there were some injuries, every person was reportedly "off the plane and accounted for," according to FOX News. The temperature in New York at the time was said to be below 20 degrees.

One passenger was quoted as remarking, "Thank the Lord, and thank the pilot!"