Bird strike runway. Passengers and crew were evacuated through the starboard emergency exits. On January 4, 2009, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter hit a red-tailed hawk in Louisiana. The hawk hit the helicopter just above the windscreen. The impact forced the activation of the engine fire suppression control handles, retarding the throttles and causing the engines to lose power. Eight of the nine persons on board died in the subsequent crash; the survivor, a passenger, was seriously injured. On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte/Douglas International Airport ditched into the Hudson River after experiencing a loss of
US Airways as Flight 1939—with 1939 commemorating the birth of All American Aviation, which evolved over the decades to become US Airways. However, repainting of US Airways' planes into the American Airlines scheme was expected to take until "late 2016", with new flight attendant uniforms also being introduced in 2016, at which point the US Airways brand was to no longer be displayed on any of its former planes, employees or assets. US Airways traces its history to All American Aviation Inc, a company founded in 1939 by du Pont family brothers Richard C. du Pont and Alexis Felix du Pont, Jr..