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
History of the Hudson River their ancestral territory, naming the river "Muhheakantuck" ("river that flows two ways"). The first known European name for the river was the Rio San Antonio as named by the Portuguese explorer in Spain's employ, Esteban Gomez, who explored the Mid-Atlantic coast in 1525. Another early name for the Hudson used by the Dutch was "Rio de Montaigne". Later, they generally termed it the "Noortrivier", or "North River", the Delaware River being known as the "Zuidrivier", or "South River". Other occasional names for the Hudson included: "Manhattes rieviere" "Manhattan River", "Groote Rivier" "Great River", and "de grootte Mouritse reviere", or "the