'Darling, I've just had an accident': Hero pilot's call to wife after he ditched Airbus into freezing New York river - and saved 155 lives

The pilot who pulled off one of the most dramatic escapes in aviation history phoned his wife to tell her: 'There's been an accident'.

Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger III, 57, saved the lives of 155 people when he made the extraordinary decision to ditch his stricken Airbus in the freezing Hudson River.

He missed smashing the US Airways plane into the George Washington Bridge by less than 300 metres, according to reports - and then walked the length of the fast-sinking plane twice to make sure everyone was off.

Final moments: The Airbus 320 descends towards the Hudson. Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger III managed to bring the plane down safely

Escape: Passengers had no option but to stand on the plane's wings in the immediate aftermath of the crash

Terrified passengers were forced to scramble to safety along the wings of the sinking jet after it made an emergency landing in the New York yesterday.

The five-strong crew guided the 150 travellers on board through flooding emergency exits and on to the wings.

A fleet of small boats and commuter ferries rushed to the Airbus 320, which was brought down by a bird-strike on both engines a minute into the flight.

Flight attendants were still strapped into their seats for the initial ascent as the plane glided down over one of the most populated areas in America.

Some passengers wore lifejackets, others picked up buoyancy equipment thrown from boats. Amazingly, no one was badly hurt - the worst injury being one person who broke both legs.
The captain - a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot nicknamed 'Sully', of California - was hailed a hero after he managed to steer away from heavily-populated Manhattan before smoothly gliding the powerless jet down intact.

More Clark Kent than Superman: Chesley B. Sullenberger III, otherwise known as Sully, the pilot who save 155 lives - pictured left at the U.S. Air Force Academy in in 1973, the year he joined; and right, more recently as a US Airways pilot

And he calmly delivered the news that he had made history to his wife over the telephone minutes later.

Speaking from their home in Danville, California, Loriri Sullenberger said, 'I was stunned.'
'I've heard Sully say to people, 'It's rare for an airline pilot to have an incident in their career.’
'When he called me, he said: ‘There’s been an accident.’ At first I thought it was something minor, but then he told me the circumstances and my body started shaking and I rushed to get our daughters out of school.'

She added: 'My body won’t stop shaking. I think he’s fine. I’m relieved.'
As soon as the Airbus hit the water, rescue workers launched a race against time to get the passengers to safety before it sank.

Women and children - including a mother with her baby - were allowed to go first, said survivors.

A diver helps passengers climb into a dinghy outside the sinking airbus

Following the evacuation, the plane lay surrounded by emergency personnel as the winter sun went down

The emergency chutes were used as rafts to take passengers onto the bigger tourists boats that were standing by to help.

Although several people fell into the frigid water, they were pulled out by divers and a US Airways spokesman confirmed early today that there were no fatalities.
Hypothermia took up to just eight minutes to set in with the water temperature just above freezing.

Several survivors were treated for hypothermia and one stewardess broke her collarbone, but all - included a nine-month-old baby and a toddler - survived.

New York Governor David Paterson said: ‘This is really a potential tragedy that may have become one of the most spectacular days in the history of New York City.

Downed: Part of the plane has now been towed to shore and tethered to a pier while investigations continue

'We have had the Miracle On 34th Street. Now we have the miracle on the Hudson,’ he said.
'The pilot did a masterful job,’ added New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 'I have spoken to him and he said he walked up and down the plane after everyone was off and he was confident there wasn’t anyone left on board.’

The flight left New York’s La Guardia Airport bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, at about 3.20pm yesterday afternoon.

But both engines were wrecked within seconds and the plane was in the air just six minutes before crash landing on the river.

A dual bird strike that kills both powerplants, if confirmed by federal transportation investigators, is virtually unheard of in U.S. aviation.

Slowly sinking: Survivors huddle on the wing and an escape slide minutes after the crash in this photo taken on a mobile phone by a ferry passenger

According to details pieced together from air traffic controllers and aviation officials, it seemed as if the entire incident of several minutes passed in a flash - demanding that Sullenberger employ every bit of his 40 years of experience.

Controllers said an 'eerie calm' defined controller and cockpit communications as options dwindled by the second. Return to LaGuardia? Too far. Land at small Teterboro Airport across the river in New Jersey? The plane wouldn't make that either.
An audacious river landing appeared to be the only option.

'That was pretty much it,' said Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). 'It was very clear to our controllers that he was going to make an attempt at the Hudson.'

‘The left engine just blew - fire and flames were flying out of it,’ said passenger Jeff Koldjoi.
‘I was in seat 22a and right by it. The smell of gasoline was really strong.

Passengers were standing on the plane's wings in the immediate aftermath of the crash, which was broadcast on WNBC-TV
‘Then the pilot came on and warned us to brace for a hard impact. That's when everyone started saying prayers.’

Radar showed the nearly 10-year-old jet making a series of tight turns to left to head down the river, flying low over the George Washington Bridge.

Asked about the landing, Koldjoi said: 'It was scary. We hit hard, really hard, I think everyone banged their head.

'But you've got to hand it to the pilot - man he did a great job. We hit hard but he did such a great job.'

Passenger Alberto Panero said: 'Within a couple of minutes, all of a sudden there was a loud bang and the plane shook. You could see smoke and fire and the plane started to turn. We knew something was wrong and we were going back.

Did anyone see that?: The wake made by the landing can still be seen in the water as passengers crawl out on the wings to wait for help

Firemen waiting on a rescue vessel throw survivors in a dinghy a rope
‘Then the captain came on and said “Brace for impact." There was a lot of emotion and crying.
‘Then we hit the water. There were people yelling and crying and then it got quiet.
'I said to myself: “This is it." Then I realised I was okay - but I could feel us sinking.

Mr Panero said there was very little panic even though it was dark and smoky inside the plane. He added: ‘It was less than a minute before we could see daylight and people were getting out.
‘I just thank the Lord and thank the pilot. I can’t believe he managed to land the plane. It is just incredible that everyone is alive.

'God. I don't even know how to put it into words.

Going down: The hulk of the plane sinks into the Hudson
‘There were little children and elderly people. We were out of there inside a minute I think.
‘This was a near death experience that thankfully did not turn that way.'

Another passenger added: 'Within a couple of minutes, all of a sudden you just heard loud bang and the plane shook a bit and immediately you could smell smoke like there was a fire.
'And immediately the plane started turning in another direction and although it didn't seem like it was out of control we knew something was going on because we were turning back.'
Survivor Fred Burretta, added: ‘I've flown in a lot of planes and let me tell you that was a phenomenal landing.’

Walking on water: Passengers standing on the plane's submerged wing wait to be rescued
Eye-witnesses said the captain pulled the nose of the plane up just as it hit the water, helping to keep the fuselage intact.

Experts said the pilot did ‘absolutely everything right’ with a ‘textbook ditching'.
'If you know you are facing a ditching, the crash-landing of an aircraft on water, it is crucial that you land the plane absolutely level,’ said David Learmount, operations and safety officer of Flight Global.

'You must not try to keep the plane airborne and if you land it too slowly you will drop out of the sky,’ he added.

Mr Learmount said that the pilot had to land the plane perfectly straight - otherwise it would have broken up on impact.
Andreas Sappock, of Circleline Sightseeing, who assisted with the rescue effort, said: 'When we got there, there were still quite a lot of people floating on the water. The water was calm, but it is very cold.’

Some survivors of the crash laugh in relief, others phone loved ones, and still others merely look shocked as they wait for a bus to take them from a First Aid centre in New Jersey
Bird-strikes on aircraft have been blamed for more than 200 deaths worldwide since 1988.
The UK’s Central Science Laboratory estimates that they cost airlines worldwide about £800,000 a year.

In 2003 there were 4,300 bird-strikes listed by the United States Air Force and 5,900 by U.S. civil aircraft.

The greatest loss of life caused by birds was on October 4 1960, when Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 flew through a flock of starlings during take-off.
All four engines were damaged and the plane crashed into nearby Boston harbour, killing 62 people.

After that disaster, aviation authorities drew up minimum standards to protect jet engines.
But on November 10 2008, a Ryanair flight from Frankfurt to Rome had to make an emergency landing at Ciampino Airport after birds took out both engines.
After the Boeing 737 touched-down, the left main landing gear collapsed, causing the aircraft to veer off the runway before the crew regained control. Three passengers and two crew members were hurt, none serious.

A survivor wearing an NYPD coat and blanketed with a fireman's jacket is stretched to a waiting ambulance.

Nasa lost an astronaut, Theodore Freeman, to a bird-strike in training. He was killed when a goose shattered the plexiglass cockpit of his jet and shards were sucked into the engine.
The Airbus has sold nearly 3,600 airplanes in the A320 series since it was introduced in 1988. There have been 19 major accidents and 631 fatalities.
There have also been 33 non-fatal accidents involving engine failures, nose gear problems and minor collisions.

In January last year, British Airways co-pilot John Coward was lauded as a hero after he made an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport.
The 41-year-old senior first officer was at the controls of a Boeing 777 when the power cut out two miles from landing, due to ice in the fuel delivery system.
All 152 passengers and crew survived the British Airways Flight 38, after he landed the plane short of the runway, narrowly clearing the perimeter fence.

- The Daily Mail