18 Jan 2009

Crane lifts Airbus from Hudson River

9:46 pm on 18 January 2009

A crane has raised the Airbus airliner which ditched in New York's Hudson River on Thursday after engine failure.

Straps attached to giant cranes were used around the fuselage and wings of the Airbus 320 which sat in the Hudson River at Battery Park since its crash landing on Thursday afternoon several kilometres upriver.

The plane was to be towed away for examination by investigators probing the accident in which all 155 passengers and crew survived, most escaping serious injury.

Investigators who believe a bird strike disabled the engines soon after take-off wish to examine its black boxes.

The National Transportation Safety Board said one engine was still attached to the plane, while the one still missing might have been located by sonar.

Pilot Chesley Sullenberger landed the distressed US Airways plane on the river, in what experts called a masterful job under life-or-death pressure.

Captain Sullenberger, 57, a former US Air Force pilot and air safety consultant from California, steered the crippled Airbus A320 over the densely populated city and brought it down on the river in a textbook landing, warning passengers to "brace for impact."

New York Governor David Paterson called it "a miracle on the Hudson."

The US Airways plane has been tied to a pier since the incident on Thursday. Flight 1549 had taken off from New York's LaGuardia airport and was heading for Charlotte, North Carolina, when the pilot told air traffic controllers he had lost all power after hitting a flock of birds.

A flight attendant broke a leg, while others were treated for mostly minor injuries. As the plane began sinking, Mr Sullenberger walked the aisle twice to make sure no one was left behind.

Captain Sullenberger and his co-pilot, both hailed as heroes, are expected to be interviewed by investigators on Saturday.

While relieved passengers have spoken to the media of their ordeal in the freezing waters, Captain Sullenberger is not able to speak publicly while the inquiry continues.