US Airways flight 1549 | Description, Pilot, & Facts (2024)

FAQs

US Airways flight 1549 | Description, Pilot, & Facts? ›

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-214 powered by two CFM International CFM56-5B4/P turbofan engines. The pilot in command was 57-year-old Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, a former fighter pilot who had been an airline pilot since leaving the United States Air Force in 1980.

On February 24, 2009, Sullenberger testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Aviation of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that his salary had been cut by 40 percent, and that his pension, like most airline pensions, was terminated and replaced by a PBGC guarantee worth only ...

US Airways sent $5,000 checks over the weekend to each of the 150 passengers to help compensate for items left behind, with a letter explaining that their luggage and other belongings might have to stay with investigators for months. The airline also reimbursed passengers for their ticket costs.

In 2009, pilots Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles of US Airways Flight 1549 were forced to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River. While many were injured, all 155 people aboard survived. The incident was dubbed the "Miracle on the Hudson" by then-New York Governor David Paterson.

After serving in the Air Force, in February 1980 he became an airline pilot with Pacific Southwest Airlines, later acquired by US Airways, until his retirement from commercial flying in March 2010. He still flies privately. Sullenberger was an active and ardent safety advocate throughout his four-decade-long career.

While the events of the water landing were extremely accurate, the film exaggerates the NTSB investigation and frames the investigators as villains, twisting it into a witch hunt for added drama. Tom Hanks delivers a stellar performance as Captain Sully, though the movie takes creative liberties with the real story.

Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was hailed a hero for his quick thinking, safely landing the plane on the river with only seconds to react and saving everyone onboard.

Passengers also reported offers of $10,000 each in return for agreeing not to sue US Airways. Many passengers and rescuers later experienced post-traumatic stress symptoms such as sleeplessness, flashbacks, and panic attacks; some began an email support group.

Some 3 1/2 minutes after colliding with the birds, the plane landed in the river. The fuselage's aft end made first contact, and that section suffered severe damage, notably a rupture that allowed water to enter the aircraft. However, the plane remained buoyant, thanks in part to the fuel tanks, which were not full.

The passengers all got their items returned to them.

In this case, “they got their luggage back and items would keep trickling in,” says Swaringen. “A few months later, someone would get an individual sock back in a nice box.” Much, but not all of it, survived intact—some of the clothing shrank or was ruined.

Who opened the door on Flight 1549? ›

Board member Robert Sumwalt, who will chair the hearing, said Campbell has told NTSB investigators that it was flight attendant Doreen Welsh who cracked open the door, not a passenger.

The youngest on board were Damian, 9 months, and Sofia, 4, who were flying with parents Martin and Tess to visit their grandmother in North Carolina.

Sully did not have that luxury. He had to get it right the first time with no reset in the simulator. If you get the Teterboro option wrong you're landing in a neighborhood short of the runway. The Hudson River is about 50 feet deep, or about 15 meters, where the plane landed.

So, although the plane did crash, due to the loss of altitude caused by the loss of both engines (likely due to being simultaneously struck by geese, though this has also not been confirmed), the Captain landed in the river, rather than a populated area.

Sullenberger served in the Air Force from 1973 to 1980 and flew F-4 Phantom II fighter planes. The Air Force said he was a flight leader in Europe and the Pacific and led war-game exercises over Nevada. He became a commercial pilot in 1980 for an airline later bought by US Airways.

Did Captain Sully retire? He retired due to age the year after the crash. He makes a nice living doing public speaking and flight safety advising.

Two minutes after the plane left the ground, it flew into a flock of Canada geese. Some of the geese were sucked into the plane's two engines. Both engines stopped working. The pilots, Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles realized that they needed to land the plane as soon as possible.

The U.S. House of Representatives in July voted 351-69 on a sweeping bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that would also raise the mandatory pilot retirement age to 67 but the Senate Commerce Committee had voted in February to reject the retirement age increase.

Some 3 1/2 minutes after colliding with the birds, the plane landed in the river. The fuselage's aft end made first contact, and that section suffered severe damage, notably a rupture that allowed water to enter the aircraft. However, the plane remained buoyant, thanks in part to the fuel tanks, which were not full.

N106US, the accident aircraft, was purchased by the Carolinas Aviation Museum (since renamed to Sullenberger Aviation Museum) in Charlotte, North Carolina, where it (and the plane's engines) was put on display.