The Miracle on the Hudson, Ten Years Later

As U.S. Airways Flight 1549 took off from La Guardia Airport on Jan. 15, 2009, the weather was clear and brisk. Suddenly, at 3:27, as the plane climbed into the sky just north of the George Washington Bridge, there was an explosion. The lead pilot, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, immediately realized that he must have struck a flock of birds, which had disabled his engines. He had to make a split-second decision either to try to land at nearby Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, or attempt a crash-landing in the Hudson River.

He chose the latter, much to the surprise of air traffic control officials on the ground, according to recordings later released.

Air Traffic Control: Okay, which runway would you like at Teterboro?

Sullenberger: We're gonna be in the Hudson.

*Beep*

Air Traffic Control: I'm sorry, say again, Captain?

As the pilots worked to get the plane down quickly and safely, New Yorkers spotted the plane in the sky and were calling emergency services. One witness who called in to WNYC said she heard a huge explosion, and looked up to see the plane plummeting towards the water.

"As it was banking around the the left, flames were coming out of the left wing's jets. Long flames. And it was obvious the plane was going down pretty fast," the caller said.

Just four minutes after striking the birds, the plane splashed down in the Hudson near West 50th Street. As the crew guided passengers out of the sinking cabin, a pair of New York Waterway ferries arrived to carry people to shore.

"The captain did just a hell of a job making sure everyone survived because without good flying...man, it was scary," said one of the passengers, Jeff Kolodjay, his voice cracking. "I'm just really excited to be alive."

Kolodjay and other passengers had to wade through the cabin in chilly waist-deep water to reach the exits, all the while feeling the jet sinking deeper into the river. Yet, while some were injured in the crash, all 155 people aboard the plane that day made it.

The survivors have planned a celebration at the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, N.C., where the plane is on display.

This story has been updated to reflect that the Carolinas Aviation Museum is in Charlotte, N.C., not Charlottesville.