This is how a flight attendant on the US Airways splash flight described the sound in the plane when both engines stopped. as the plane has now been fully lifted from the Hudson, more moment-to-moment details are emerging from Captain Hero’s amazing flight.
Black Boxes in Hand, Full Story Emerges
It was a routine takeoff, according to first officer Jeffrey Skiles, who was at the controls of the Airbus A320 when it lifted off from LaGuardia bound for Charlotte, N.C. at 3:26 p.m. Thursday. The plane was climbing to 3,000 feet and accelerating from about 250 mph when Skiles saw a line of birds off to the right. Captain Chesley Sullenberger was looking down at that moment. When he looked up, “the windscreen was filled with birds,” said NTSB spokesperson Kitty Higgins, summarizing Sullenberger’s account.
The crew described the animals as big, dark brown birds. Sullenberger said his first instinct was to duck. It was just 90 seconds after takeoff…
In the back of the plane, fight attendants realized something was wrong. They told investigators they heard a loud thud or thump, a sound they have never heard before. All engine noise ceased, there was complete silence. Higgins said one crew member described it as “like being in a library.”
