Miracle on the Hudson
US Airways Flight 1549, captained by Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, made an emergency landing on January 15, 2009 in the Hudson River after suffering a double bird strike over the George Washington Bridge. This was the only verified safe water landing of an airliner in aviation history. [1] After the plane was hit by a multitude of birds, Sullenberger took over the controls from Skiles, who had been piloting the plane, and Skiles tried to restart the engines. [2] The pilot wanted at first to return to LaGuardia Airport and began turning left to do so, but then asked about Teterboro Airport which was in a straight line. He was quickly offered a runway there, and also one at Newark Airport. Having no power to make a safe landing at any airport, he made the decision to ditch in the water - about a minute after first contacting air traffic control.
Billionaire Richard Branson said of Sullenberger, "Every single thing he could have done right, he did right — from the second he made that decision not to go to that local airport, to put the plane down in the water, to the way he looked after everybody." [3]
