Pat Dollard | Young Americans

From The Independent:

Mr Kolodjay, from Norwalk, Connecticut, said that three or four minutes into the flight the left engine blew.

He went on: “The pilot told us to brace for impact and that pilot did one hell of a job making sure everyone, or the vast majority of people, got off.”

Asked if it was an orderly evacuation, Mr Kolodjay said: “I would say that for a plane that is dumped in the Hudson River, about as orderly as can be. I’m happy to be alive - I’m perfect.”

All the passengers were later accounted for. Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg told a press conference: “It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and making sure that everyone got out.

“I had a long conversation with the pilot, who walked the plane twice after everyone got off to make sure there was no one left on board. This pilot did a wonderful job.”

Detective Michael Delany, from the New York Police Department scuba team, said that despite the unfolding emergency, it remained a calm operation.

But he added that time was crucial as people struggled in the icy conditions.

Mr Delany said: “They were very cold, very lethargic, almost to the point of hypothermia. The water would have been around 55 to 65 feet deep, and at its coldest point around 30F to 45F.

“People would have only been able to survive for around five to 10 minutes.”

Praise has also been heaped on the emergency services and commercial ferries that helped get people off the plane and out of the water.

Juan Rosario, who captains one of the New York Waterway ferries on the Hudson River, said: “I saw it going down slowly, almost like it was descending nicely. There was a big splash.”

He added: “When I saw it, I was in shock. But immediately we just sprang into action. I was surprised everyone survived. I assumed people wouldn’t survive.”

Vince Lombardi said commuters and sightseers on his ferry aided the rescue effort.

He said: “I had 22 passengers already on board and they helped out by throwing them life jackets. We don’t have blankets on board, so we gave them the coats off our backs.”

The FBI said there was no indication of terrorist involvement, while Mr Bloomberg said there was nothing to suggest anything other than an accident.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said: “The flight took off at 3.26 eastern time. We believe it was airborne for three minutes after take-off when it crashed into the Hudson River.

“The reports of bird strikes come from eyewitnesses on the ground.”

US Airways chief executive Doug Parker refused to speculate about the cause of the crash.

He said: “The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct a internal investigation to determine the probable cause.”

FOX:

NEW YORK — A US Airways pilot who safely landed an Airbus 320 in the Hudson River off the shores of Manhattan without any fatalities is being hailed as a hero.

So, who exactly is Chesley B. Sullenburger III?

Sullenburger’s daughter, contacted by FOXNews.com Thursday night, declined to confirm details about her father.

An official familiar with the accident told The Associated Press the 57-year-old, of Danville, Calif., is a former fighter pilot who runs a safety consulting firm in addition to flying commercial aircraft.

“We’ve had a ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ and now we have a miracle on the Hudson,” said New York Gov. David Paterson.

(H/T MsUnderestimated)

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the pilot, whom he declined to idenitify, told him he walked the plane twice to make sure everyone was off the plane, before exiting the aircraft.

Sullenberger, who has flown for US Airways since 1980, flew F-4 fighter jets with the Air Force in the 1970s. He then served on a board that investigated aircraft accidents and participated later in several National Transportation Safety Board investigations.

He is president of Safety Reliability Methods, a California firm that uses “the ultra-safe world of commercial aviation” as a base for safety consulting in other fields, according to the firm’s Web site.

Sullenberger’s mailbox at the firm was full on Thursday. A group of fans sprang up on Facebook within hours of the emergency landing.

“OMG, I am terrified of flying but I would be happy to be a passenger on one of your aircraft!!” Melanie Wills in Bristol wrote on the wall of “Fans of Sully Sullenberger.” “You have saved a lot of peoples lives and are a true hero!!”

The Smoking Gun:

The Hero Of Flight 1549

Veteran pilot, 57, safely landed US Airways jet in Hudson River

JANUARY 15–Meet Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, III, the US Airways pilot who today amazingly crash-landed a US Airways jet in New York’s Hudson River without any apparent fatalities. The heroic Sullenberger, 57, has worked for US Airways since 1980, and before that spent more than six years as a U.S. Air Force F-4 fighter pilot. Sullenberger, who now must be considered the front runner to replace Hillary Clinton as New York’s junior United States Senator, is also the founder of Safety Reliability Methods. The firm describes itself as providing “technical expertise and strategic vision and direction to improve safety and reliability in a variety of high risk industries.” Business should soon be booming. Click here to revel in Sullenberger’s brilliance and professionalism, as detailed in the veteran pilot’s resume. Expect his “executive career highlights” to be updated shortly.

Yeah … He can be my pilot anytime