US Airways Flight Crashes Upon Takeoff

Chrissie Cole

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A US Airways plane dove into the Hudson River after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York. 148 people and four to five crew members were onboard the flight and all appear to be alive.

At the time of the airplane crash, it was snowing and below 20 degrees in New York. Water taxies and ferries rescued passengers who said they smelled smoke before the crash. The pilot radioed air traffic controllers that a flock of birds went into the engine prior to declaring an emergency.

Reported bird/wildlife strikes to aircraft in the U.S. are tracked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There have been more than 38,000 strike reports from 1990 to 2001. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that number is about 20 percent of all strikes that have occurred. #