After an Airbus A320’s engines were killed by geese, pilots landed on the Hudson and saved 155 people

This story goes down in history as one of the most powerful American hero stories when the engines of an Airbus A320 were killed by geese, the pilots landed the plane on the Hudson River and saved 155 people.

Captain Chelsey ‘Sully’ Sullenberger and his First Officer Jeffrey Skiles had extensive experience flying, but even these experts had their training tested to the extreme after disaster struck.

A flock of Canada geese struck the US Airways Flight 1549 from LaGuardia to Charlotte and caused the two pilots to make a difficult decision: turn back or land on water.

Lightning-quick decision-making from both pilots led to all 155 people, both passengers and flight crew, safely landing on the Hudson River, where they were rescued.

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These pilots saved the day when the engines of an Airbus A320 were killed

There are several well-known heroes in America, and surely nobody would be able to forget the stories of Airbus A320 pilot Captain Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger and his First Officer Jeffrey Skiles.

In what is now called ‘The Miracle of the Hudson’, the Captain and the First Officer of the US Airways Flight 1549 from LaGuardia to Charlotte did some lightning-quick thinking and saved the lives of more than 100 people.

Shortly after the plane took flight from LaGuardia, the Airbus A320 flew through a flock of Canada geese killing both engines, and when they couldn’t be restarted, Captain Sullenberger declared ‘Mayday’.

Sully and Skiles had to choose between turning back to LaGuardia or diverting to Teterboro, but as the plane started dropping towards the ground at an alarming rate, Captain Sully made a now iconic decision.

They were going to land their Airbus A320 in the Hudson River.

It took just four minutes to make a hero

Amazingly, Sully and Skiles made all the decisions from bird strike to touchdown in just four minutes, so when the plane struck the Hudson River at an optimal 11° angle at 140mph, they saved lives.

Sully managed to maintain a consistent airspeed and angle and prevented injury to any passenger or crew member, and all the passengers climbed onto the Airbus A320’s wings, where they were rescued.

It took just three minutes and 40 seconds for the passengers to be rescued, and all 155 people survived.

Thanks to their amazing and quick work, the crew received the keys to the City of New York and the Master’s Medal.

Captain Sully and First Officer Skiles will go down in history as true American heroes.

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