Extraordinary story out of New York. By now we've heard about the U.S. Airways Airbus A320 that crashed in the Hudson River, shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. We know that all 155 passengers and crew made it out safely and that the cause of the crash was engine failure after a flock of geese were sucked into the jet's engines.
Here's what you may not know. The pilot had to "clear" the George Washington Bridge....with no power! Aviation experts said that landing a commercial jet on water without the plane breaking apart was extraordinary. "A water landing is typically even more destructive than a ground landing. It is amazing an Airbus jet was able to land in the river without breaking up," said Max Vermij, an air accident investigator with Accident Cause Analysis of Ottawa, Canada. He speculated that the plane would have hit the water at a speed of about 140 knots. "Typically the wings and engines would break off on impact, water would plow into the jet and tear apart the fuselage."
Lucky? The survivors should all buy lottery tickets...as soon as possible!
