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 Group Ohio River valley in 1939. In 1949 the company was renamed All American Airways as it switched from airmail to passenger service; it changed its name again to Allegheny Airlines on January 1,1953. In 1979, Allegheny changed its name to USAir, and in February 1997, to US Airways. In August 2002, US Airways Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in an effort to correct its financial problems brought on by rising costs and the post-Sept. 11 drop-off in air travel. On September 12, 2004, US Airways Group and most of its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time