Video of US Airways Flight 1549 Landing on Hudson River

WOW!


After praising the Captain, the crew, and the passengers for their exceptional behavior, the next people who deserved to be thanked and praised are the captains of the passenger ferry's who rushed to the scene and performed an unbelievable pas de deux with the plane and each other. Their names should be released and highlighted with praise.


Video 

The initial scenes shown on TV news reports failed to put the entire event in true motion perspective.  In this film the river appears to be in full outbound tide flow.  That plane was moving rapidly down river, and the potential for the ferry's to tip or sink that now floating raft, or injure the passengers as they approached the plane was very high, especially as the second and third vessel arrived on the scene.  The communication among the ferry captains would probably be an incredible audio to listen to.  

This video unfolds slowly, and the initial plane touchdown occurs around minute 2:02.

Video of US Airways descent into Hudson River released

New York--The Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board released Coast Guard footage today of the U.S. Airways passenger plane as it conducted an emergency landing into the Hudson River Jan. 15, 2009.

The Coast Guard, New York Police and Fire Departments, New York Waterways and Circle Line ferry rescue teams launched a multi-asset response yesterday when the plane ditched onto the Hudson River, at approximately 3:30 p.m. Upon initial notification, Coast Guard Sector New York launched a fleet of small rescue boats and the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Ridley was diverted to the scene.

The Coast Guard Cutter Katherine Walker also arrived on scene to assist in the search and rescue efforts and enforcement of the safety zones. Three Coast Guard helicopters from Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., and one from Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., worked closely with New York City Police air assets to provide aerial support.

The video was captured by Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service. The purpose of a VTS is to provide active monitoring and navigational advice for vessels in particularly confined and busy waterways. There are two main types of VTS, surveillance and non-surveillance. Surveillance systems consist of one or more land-based sensors (including radar, Automated Identification Systems and closed circuit television sites), which output their signals to a central location where operators monitor and manage vessel traffic movement. Non-surveillance systems consist of one or more reporting points at which ships are required to report their identity, course, speed, and other data to the monitoring authority. The Coast Guard operates 12 Vessel Traffic Centers (VTC): Prince William Sound, Puget Sound, Valdez, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Houston-Galveston, Berwick Bay, Louisville, Saint Mary's River, Port Arthur, Tampa, and New York.