US Airways Flight 1549 US Airways Flight 1549 US Airways Flight 1549 was an Airbus A320-214 which, in the climbout after takeoff from New York City's LaGuardia Airport on January 15, 2009, struck a flock of Canada geese just northeast of the George Washington Bridge and consequently lost all engine power. Unable to reach any airport, pilots Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles glided the plane to a ditching in the Hudson River off Midtown Manhattan. All 155 people aboard were rescued by nearby boats and there were few serious injuries. The accident came to be known as the "Miracle on the Hudson", and a
2009 Hudson River mid-air collision for "immediate action to provide greater oversight of small aircraft operations". In a press conference on August 8, 2009, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (an airplane and helicopter pilot himself) stated that "Until the National Transportation Safety Board makes a determination, nothing is a fact", and stressed that the investigation will take weeks or months before those facts are known. Representatives from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), including AOPA President Craig Fuller, have appeared on numerous news programs and collaborated with news sources to explain the workings of the Hudson River VFR corridor and the safety record