Just saw it on CNN. They think it might have hit a bird. It came in gently enough that it is now floating in the river. People still on board.
Said to be a bird strike taking out both engines - may have all out safely at this time, may be 146 passengers, 5 crew
It doesn’t sound that bad…hopefully it stays that way.
It’s floating in the water and is surrounded by boats getting the people out. Police/Fire and the Circle line and ferrry boats are all there.
It’s near the Intrepid museum.
(as seen on NY1)
I’m watching this live on CNN online, and there are several ferries and boats surrounding the plane. Witnesses say that the plane, which was an Airbus A320 traveling from LaGuardia to North Carolina, didn’t break up, that it gradually got lower, skimmed and then hit the water, very much a controlled landing. What a fantastic pilot!
One of the most amazing things about watching this is seeing first hand how fast the currents are. The camera keeps moving because the plane and boats are swiftly being pulled downstream.
At this point no one knows if anyone’s hurt or dead. I imagine they’re just still trying to figure out how to get the survivors out of the plane.
Survivors are reporting that everyone got off the plane.
I guess we will wait and see, but it sounds positive
I’ve been watching all of this from my window. It’s pretty much happening right over the Lincoln Tunnel. At first we feared that it was some terrorist situation because we couldn’t see the plane (the tunnel ventilation towers are blocking the view), only the rescue vehicles.
It definately sounds good…Reports are that the pilot made a “mayday” call after hitting a flock of geese and intentionally set down in the River knowing that he couldn’t make it back to LaGuardia.
As the first thing to come to mind was that terrible, snowy downing into the Potomac River near Washington DC years back ('82) when so many perished, it’s a relief to see both the plane still on the surface and so many boats surrounding it with the apparent capacity to assist.
Live video from CBS:
It’s definitely intact - you can see it on the news. Pilot did a great job.
Uugghhh…that footage of that woman slipping off the ropes and back into the water. I shudder when I think of it. 
It was. The picture is old though. Currently the only thing above water is the tail fin…
146 passengers and 5 crew members are okay. Some slipped off the wing into the water, and damn, it’s gotta be cold. I think there were some minor injuries. I’m listening to it on the local radio station (1010WINS) and they’re interviewing eyewitnesses. I keep hearing sirens.
It flew into a flock of geese and had an engine blowout. I thought all the geese flew south where the dumpsters weren’t frozen.
I wonder if they are trying to save the plane, putting airbags under the fuselage?
If Jackknifed Juggernaut is correct, they may be trying to keep it from sinking onto the Lincoln Tunnel, which might suck. Also, it’s much easier to salvage if it’s on the surface.
I was wondering about that. How much salvage will be possible? At the very least, everything got wet.
There is very surreal footage of the plane in the water with people sitting and standing on the wings.:eek:
Now that we’re pretty sure everyone is safe, I can ask what they’re gonna do with the plane: scrap it? Rebuild from ground up? Sell it as flood damage? 