US Airways Flight 1549

US Airways Flight 1549 was a regularly scheduled US Airways flight from New York City's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte and Seattle, in the United States, that ditched into the Hudson River shortly after takeoff on January 15, 2009 due to a birdstrike-induced engine failure. The Airbus A320 operating the flight, registered N106US, struck a flock of Canada Geese shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia, losing all engine power. Given their position in relation to the available airports and their low altitude, pilots Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles decided to glide the plane and ditch on the Hudson River near Midtown Manhattan, doing so without significant damage to the aircraft. All 155 people on board were rescued by nearby boats. There were no fatalities, although 100 people were injured, 5 of them seriously. The time from the bird strike to the ditching was less than four minutes. The then-Governor of New York State, David Paterson, called the incident a "Miracle on the Hudson" and a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) official described it as "the most successful ditching in aviation history". Flight simulations showed that the aircraft could have returned to LaGuardia, had it turned toward the airport immediately after the bird strike. However, the NTSB found that the scenario did not account for real-world considerations, and affirmed the ditching as providing the highest probability of survival, given the circumstances. The pilots and flight attendants were awarded the Master's Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators in recognition of their "heroic and unique aviation achievement".

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