All 155 passengers and crew aboard a US Airways airbus A320 had a miraculous escape after the plane ditched into a frigid Hudson river off west side Manhattan within seconds of take off, apparently after it ran into a flock of geese.
Federal investigators were examining the plane to pin point the cause of failure of the engines within seconds of its taking off from La Guardia airport in New York.
"We've had a miracle on the Hudson," New York Gov David Paterson told a news conference and called the pilot a hero for landing the plane in the fast-moving river.
"The pilot somehow, without any engines, was able to land this plane" and there were no serious injuries," Paterson said.
Officials said bird hit, caught on radar, looks to be the most plausible cause but they would finally announce it after investigations are complete.
Passengers said the pilots had declared an emergency and had taken one round to ensure that they were following safety instruction before asking them to "prepare for impact."
Reports said that the pilot originally wanted to take the plane back to the airport but decided to crash-land on water apparently after he realised it might not be possible.
Within minutes, ferries which normally take tourists round the Manhattan Island, and water taxis reached the scene and started rescuing passengers, some of whom jumped directly into them and some went up the wing and were helped in.
Later, they were joined by other rescue workers, including firemen and police.
The water was frigid and temperature minus 7 degrees C when the accident occurred and those who had jumped into water were taken to hospitals for check up.
But most passengers were plucked directly from the plane and an emergency worker said at least one young passenger they brought to hospital had removed his clothes so that he could swim to the shore in case rescue was delayed.
Fortunately, the plane did not sink and remained afloat which helped in the rescue and saved lives.
Announcing that all passengers, including a baby, were safe, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the pilot for doing a "masterful job" of landing the plane on the river and then making sure that all had been rescued before getting out of it.
He also praised the pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, noting that he had walked through the plane twice after landing to ensure everyone was out before he himself got out.
A former air force pilot, Sullenberger has 40 years of flying experience.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said at least 486 planes had suffered bird collisions since 2000, leading to 166 emergency landings and 66 aborted takeoffs.
Officials said shortly after take-off, the pilot radioed that he had suffered double bird hit. A passenger told television networks that he heard some sort of explosion and then there was smell of gas.
The plane, some of them said, hit water pretty hard and several passengers suffered bleeding injuries and a crew member fractured her leg. But there were no life-threatening injuries, officials said.
Experts say emergency landing was much more dangerous on water than on land and there is great possibility of breaking up after landing.
The plane had taken off from LaGuardia Airport in New York and some reports said the pilot was trying to take the plane to another smaller airport when it crashed.
Photograph: Reuters/Eric Thayer
Image: Passengers are being rescued from the river.
