Chesley Sullenberger 29 to 31, 2007. On January 15, 2009, Sullenberger was the captain of US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Shortly after takeoff, the plane struck a large flock of birds (Canada geese) and lost power in both engines. Quickly determining he would be unable to reach either LaGuardia or Teterboro airport, Sullenberger piloted the plane to a water landing on the Hudson River. All 155 people on board survived and were rescued by nearby boats. Sullenberger said later: "It was very quiet as we worked, my copilot Jeff Skiles and
US Airways to be redeployed to Boston where they would operate Boston to Philadelphia and the Boston to New York LaGuardia leg of the US Airways Shuttle service. On December 8, 2009, US Airways began service to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão airport operated by a Boeing 767-200, its first route to South America. The Airline continued to operate scheduled flights and profits were seen to be sustainable. The airline was in good shape. 2010 was a better year for the airline due to no recorded incidents or accidents following the ditching of flight 1549 the previous year. The airline was profitable up to