'Miracle on the Hudson' - All safe in Jet Crash

As they boarded a bus, some passengers credited the pilot with safely landing the plane."We all got out alive and well," one passenger said."The pilot saved our lives," said another.

NEW YORK (MCT) - A US Airways pilot made an emergency landing into the Hudson River off midtown Manhattan after the plane hit a flock of birds Thursday afternoon _ and miraculously all 155 aboard survived the plunge into the frigid waters.

The pilot did a "masterful job" of ensuring everyone aboard Flight 1549 en route from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, N.C., made it out safely, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, according to The Associated Press.

Of the 150 passengers, including an infant, and five crew members, 78 were hurt, but none of the injuries was life-threatening, officials said.

Gov. David A. Paterson described the emergency landing as a tragedy averted, The AP reported."We had a miracle on 34th Street. I believe now we have had a miracle on the Hudson," he said.

The pilot told the mayor he checked the plane twice to make sure everyone was off, and was the last person off the plane.

The FBI said CNN reported that the pilot was Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III."This pilot did a wonderful job," the mayor said.

At St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, a husband and wife were being treated for hypothermia and a flight attendant was going into surgery for a leg fracture, CNN reported.

Twenty-five passengers were being triaged at Jersey City Medical Center, CNN said. At Palisades Medical Center in Bergen, N.J., 14 people were being treated, the network said.

Government officials said the plane hit the birds, disabling two engines.

"The left engine just blew," said survivor Jeff Kolodjay, 31, of Norwalk, Conn. "I was looking right at it because I was right there.We thought we were going to circle around, but we didn't have time."

He added, "The pilot said, 'You've got to brace for a hard impact.' "

The flight had taken off from LaGuardia Airport shortly before 3:30 p.m., according to FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown.

Intrepid Museum president Bill White said museum staff immediately ran up to the flight deck of the historic aircraft carrier to see the plane, which had come to rest in the river just north of the museum on 46th Street.

"They skillfully ditched the plane in the water so people could get out. Rafts were deployed," White said. He said the strong outbound current quickly carried the plane and the rescue vessels around it from the upper 40s down to streets in the 20s.

"We saw a rescue swimmer jump from a helicopter into the water," White said. "We could see almost a dozen people up on the left wing, which was pretty much above water when it went past the Intrepid."

Alberto Panero, a passenger interviewed on CNN, said: "I actually grabbed one of the seats and some people grabbed the inflatable ones. It seemed like immediately there were folks coming to us."

Media reports said people on ferries tossed life vests to the plane.

"They threw the jackets to us. At first there was a little bit of panic," Panero said.

Some people quickly took charge, he said.

"Once people realized that we were going to be OK, people calmed down," Panero said.

Kolodjay said people hit their heads on the ceiling when the plane crashed.

"People were bleeding all over the place," he said. "A couple of ladies got some pretty bad leg injuries.

"At first, it was chaos," he said. "But I said, 'Relax, relax. Women and children first.'"

He thinks there were about five life rafts. Women and children got on first, followed by the men. "I think everybody made it on."

Janis Krums, a passenger on a New Jersey-bound ferry diverted to pick up passengers from the plane, said: "We were the first ferry on the scene. We took about 30 to 40 people. We got them from the wings and the raft, and then took them to the 39th Street ferry station in New York.

"It was freezing and they were a little shaken up, but everyone was lined up on the wings and waiting. We were there by chance."

The Weehawken, N.J., ferry terminal quickly was turned into a makeshift medical center to treat 60 passengers, most suffering from hypothermia.

The most serious cases were transferred to the hospitals. Other passengers were taken to community centers to be reunited with their families.

"They'll be fine within hours," said Mickey MacCabe, Hudson County, N.J., EMS coordinator. "It's a miracle."

Many of the passengers were still shivering when they arrived at the terminal, said Dr. Berry Williams, a physician who responded to the scene after learning about the crash landing from one of his patients.

One woman, covered in four blankets, had a heated intravenous line running into her arm, Williams said. Another had a bruise from blunt-force trauma.

As they boarded a bus, some passengers credited the pilot with safely landing the plane.

"We all got out alive and well," one passenger said.

"The pilot saved our lives," said another.

"I'm terrific," another passenger said. "This is the best day." One joked: "One of the best landings I've ever experienced."

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(Daniel Edward Rosen and staff writers Keith Herbert, Bill Bleyer, Andrew Strickler, Jennifer Maloney, Eden Laikin and Sophia Chang contributed to this report.)

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© 2009, Newsday.