A U.S. Airways plane crashed into the Hudson River next to Manhattan, New York on Thursday afternoon, sending rescue crews into the cold waters to evacuate passengers. A government official said the plane appeared to have struck several birds, possibly geese, disabling two engines. Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said the flight had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport enroute to Charlotte, North Carolina, when the crash occurred. Government officials do not believe the crash is related to terrorism. “There is no information at this time to indicate that this is a security-related incident,” Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner told the Associated Press. “We continue to closely monitor the situation which at present is focused on search and rescue.”
