The pilot of a crippled US Airways jet liner made a split-second decision to put down in the Hudson River because trying to return to the airport after birds knocked out both engines could have led to a “catastrophic” crash in a populated neighborhood. Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger told investigators on Sunday that in the few minutes he had to decide where to set the powerless plane down, he felt it was “too low, too slow” and near too many buildings to go anywhere but into the river, according to the National Transportation Safety Board account of his testimony. The pilot and his first officer provided their first account to NTSB investigators Saturday of what unfolded inside US Airways Flight 1549 in the moments after it slammed into a flock of birds and lost both engines. Co-pilot Jeff Skiles, who was flying the plane, saw the birds coming in perfect formation, and made note of it. Sullenberger looked up, and in an instant his windscreen was filled with big, dark-brown birds. “His instinct was to duck,” said NTSB board member Kitty Higgins, recounting their interview. Then there was a thump, the smell of burning birds, and silence as both aircraft engines cut out. “My aircraft!” Sullenberger said. The account illustrated how quickly things deteriorated after the bump at 3,000 feet (914 meters), and their fast realization that returning to LaGuardia or getting to another airport was impossible. With both engines out, flight attendants described complete silence in the cabin, “like being in a library,” said NTSB member Kitty Higgins. A smoky haze and the odor of burning metal or electronics filled the plane. The pilot said he tried to set down near a boat, to increase the possibility that survivors would be rescued, he told investigators. The aircraft hit close to several popular landings, and rescuers were able to arrive within minutes. After the airline splashed down, commuter ferries and tugs rushed to the rescue. All 155 people aboard were saved. As the details of the river landing emerged Saturday, investigators worked to pull the airliner from the river. Federal investigators on Sunday recovered the black box flight recorders from the Airbus, after working all night to pull the wreckage from New York's Hudson River, NY1 television showed. Footage on the local New York channel showed officials carrying away the boxes, which contain cockpit voice and data recordings leading up to Thursday's crash and ditching into the Hudson. The recorders will provide crucial evidence in determining why the plane suddenly lost power in both engines shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport.
