US Airways Flight 1549: A Pilot Explains the Hudson Ditching

This Mentour Pilot episode explains US Airways Flight 1549, the Airbus A320 that ditched on the Hudson River on 15 January 2009 after both engines were damaged by birds. The narrator is an airline captain, and the video concentrates on what the two pilots were doing, second by second, and why their choices worked. The final minutes play the radio recordings from that afternoon.

The crew and the aircraft

There were 150 passengers on board, including a baby on his mother's lap, and five crew. Captain Chesley Sullenberger was a former military pilot. First Officer Jeffrey Skiles had more than 15,000 hours on other types but had only just started on the A320 and had recently passed his skill test. The narrator points out a piece of luck: this aircraft was fitted for flights over water, with slide/rafts at the doors, although its route did not require them.

The bird strike

About two minutes after takeoff from runway 4 the captain called "Birds!", followed by thumps and a loss of engine noise. The video explains engine bird-strike certification. The birds used in certification tests at the time were much lighter than a Canada goose, which weighs several times as much, and examinations after the accident found goose remains in both engines.

Twelve seconds

The narrator stresses how much the crew did in the first seconds. The captain started the auxiliary power unit, which kept electrical power and the fly-by-wire protections available, then took control, as US Airways procedures expected in an emergency. The first officer began the engine dual failure checklist from the Quick Reference Handbook. The mayday call was not heard by air traffic control because another aircraft was transmitting at the same moment. The video explains that the A320's dual engine failure checklist was written for losing both engines at cruising height, with plenty of time, not at 3,000 feet.

LaGuardia, Teterboro or the river

Controllers offered LaGuardia and then Teterboro. The narrator explains why turning back would have used up height the crew could not spare: if they had tried for LaGuardia and fallen short, there would have been nowhere left to go. The NTSB's simulations later showed that a successful return was only possible with an immediate turn and no time to think.

The approach to the water

While the captain flew and planned, the first officer worked the checklist and called out speed and height. Ground proximity warnings sounded as the aircraft descended over the city, and they masked other warnings. With the river close, the captain asked "Got any ideas?" and the first officer replied "Actually, not." The narrator sees this exchange as an example of good crew resource management. The aircraft touched down with its speed below the target, and the rear of the fuselage was damaged. The left engine broke away.

The evacuation and the report

Water came in at the back, so the rear exits could not be used. Passengers left through the forward doors and the overwing exits, and the pilots made a final sweep through the cabin. The video reads out the NTSB's probable cause and contributing factors, then describes changes to training that followed, which the narrator says reached his own Boeing fleet.