# Air Bus Down in the Hudson River **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 15, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493 "2009-01-15T21:05:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/21 "2009-01-15T21:57:46Z")
I flying to La Guardia tomorrow on US Air. I guess the odds against anything bad happening are extremely in my favor. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/22 "2009-01-15T21:58:06Z")
The airframe should be in good shape. Apparently they have cables strung from the tugs to the tail to try to minimize drift. There is a tug with a yellow crane structure on it. I’m watching MSNBC, and there was a live interview with a passenger. A reporter asked him what it was like and he replied “Scary as shit!” Ya gotta love New Yorkers! President Bush is probably really annoyed this happened. Doesn’t look like his last opportunity to convince everyone to see his administration’s record his way will get much attention. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/23 "2009-01-15T22:00:39Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > 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? 🆒 Keep it out of the river, certainly. It’s full of fuel and other crap that’s best not dumped into a major waterway. Not to mention, I bet the passengers would like at least a shot at recovering their luggage. After that, the plane should be mounted in the pilot’s front yard as a commemorative display: “The guy in this house is FUCKING AWESOME. Signed, the world” ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/24 "2009-01-15T22:06:12Z")
Dumb question. There is this survivor on TV now talking. So he had this landing. He got on a ferry, they took him to the dock and then … What? A pretty-well mandatory ride to the hospital? Wander away if you feel like it? (Underpinning this is the question of how do we know he is actually a survivor?) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/25 "2009-01-15T22:12:49Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > President Bush is probably really annoyed this happened. Doesn’t look like his last opportunity to convince everyone to see his administration’s record his way will get much attention. I just hope he doesn’t invade Canada in his last few days in office in retaliation for the terrorist Canada geese that caused the crash-landing. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/26 "2009-01-15T22:13:26Z")
They just towed it over to the shore near Stuyvesant High School. “Did anything interesting happen at school today dear?” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/27 "2009-01-15T22:22:59Z")
Is this the first plane crash ever with NO fatalities? ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/28 "2009-01-15T22:24:22Z")
[Air France Flight 358](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_358) comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/29 "2009-01-15T22:25:44Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > Dumb question. > > There is this survivor on TV now talking. So he had this landing. He got on a ferry, they took him to the dock and then … > > What? A pretty-well mandatory ride to the hospital? Wander away if you feel like it? > > (Underpinning this is the question of how do we know he is actually a survivor?) Generally, they have triage units that do a quick check of people and those who’re okay get cut loose as quickly as possible. > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Is this the first plane crash ever with NO fatalities? Nope. We’ve had plenty of them in the past. Run now, the industry is sitting at two years with no fatalities, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/30 "2009-01-15T22:28:50Z")
Now that I’ve thought about it, the February 2, 2005 Teterboro [crash](http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/15/new.york.plane.crash/index.html) also qualifies, even if the plane never left the ground. Going across six lanes of rush hour traffic and crashing into a warehouse without killing anyone is miraculous. The pilots first words were “I lost control of the plane.” You think? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/31 "2009-01-15T22:32:24Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > 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? 🆒 The airframe looks to be intact. You can lift it off the river onto a barge, take it to an appropriate facility where it may be stripped down, remove everything water-damageable, and if the rest is indeed sound, then reassemble it with new systems and interiors. If that process will cost too much when you factor in in loss of revenue, or if the airline was looking to cut down the fleet anyway, they may write it off. I guess it depends if the insurer wants to declare it totalled. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/32 "2009-01-15T22:35:51Z")
They are saying everyone survived. That’s miraculous. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/33 "2009-01-15T22:36:48Z")
_The plane, Boss, the plane_ ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/34 "2009-01-15T22:38:42Z")
But are the birds ok?! ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/35 "2009-01-15T22:47:44Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > But are the birds ok?! No, they are goose jerky. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/36 "2009-01-15T22:49:47Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > But are the birds ok?! Remember the _Far Side_ cartoon about the bird watching TV and the bird reporter is talking about the bird that got sucked into the engine of the plane, with no mention of the people visibly burning to death in the plane? ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/37 "2009-01-15T22:59:30Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Is this the first plane crash ever with NO fatalities? There have been many plane crashes with no fatalities. Off the top of my head, the Gimli Glider incident in Canada comes to mind. A 777 hit the ground short of the runway at Heathrow quite recently, no fatalities there. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/38 "2009-01-15T23:09:36Z")
As a pilot, I have several friends who have survived plane crashes without injury, much less fatalities. But yeah, big airplanes like passenger airliners have sometimes crashed with everyone surviving. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/39 "2009-01-15T23:11:57Z")
Damn, now I can no longer secretly snicker when the pre-flight routine gets to the part about “… in the event of a water landing…” ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493/40 "2009-01-15T23:13:15Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > But are the birds ok?! I see a few tiny little feathers drifting on the wind… but seriously, the news commentators are saying bird strikes happen a lot and there’s not much that can be done to prevent them. They don’t usually result in plane crashes. One guy said that if a plane is going 200 knots and a bird hits the engine, the bird will be going through the engine at 200 knots. It’s kind of like putting it in a blender and hitting puree. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/air-bus-down-in-the-hudson-river/481493.md?page=3)