NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - A US Airways flight taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport crashed in the Hudson River Thursday afternoon, setting off a dramatic rescue in freezing currents that involved local ferries and tugboats and saved every one of the 155 passengers and crew onboard, according to the airline.
The sight of the plane splashing into the river on one of the coldest days of the winter triggered a rescue effort in which a flotilla of ferries, water taxis and tourist boats raced to the stricken aircraft to pluck to safety passengers who had scrambled onto the wings as the plane drifted toward the Statue of Liberty.
Television images taken immediately following the incident showed passengers and crew members standing on the aircraft's wings as it floated downstream in plain sight of thousands of onlookers gathered on the New York and New Jersey shorelines
Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 jet with 150 passengers and a crew of five, was headed for Charlotte from LaGuardia when it splashed into the river shortly after 3 p.m. Eastern time, according to reports from the Federal Aviation Administration and US Airways Group
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Officials said the cause of the crash was under investigation, but initial reports suggested the plane may have hit birds after taking off.
Passengers interviewed on television described a harrowing series of events that unfolded in the moments after takeoff. They said they heard a loud bang and saw flames erupt from one of the engines. Soon afterward, the pilot told them to prepare for an impact.
"You could smell smoke and fire. ... We knew something was going on," a passenger told cable-news channel CNN. "Then the pilot told us to prepare for impact."
"We were all able to get out. ... It's incredible right now that everyone is still alive," the passenger said.
US Airways said it was activating its emergency-response teams and confirmed that everyone got off the plane alive.
Another passenger, who said he had been sitting in a seat just behind the wing, said he saw smoke and flame from the engine.
He also complimented the pilots for landing the craft safely: "It was a great landing. I had expected the craft to careen."
In an evening press conference, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said passengers were taken to New York and New Jersey via different watercraft for medical attention. "We do not believe there are any serious injuries," he added.
Bloomberg also said he spoke with the pilot, who as the last to leave the aircraft walked the aisle twice to make sure that no one was left behind.
Christopher Hinton is a reporter for MarketWatch based in New York.