Passenger plane ditches in Hudson River

The US Airways Airbus A320 made the crash-landing minutes out of LaGuardia airport, both its engines apparently disabled by a flock of birds. Passengers were rescued from the wings or helped from the icy water by divers. Flight 1549 departed LaGuardia en route to Charlotte, North Carolina, at 1503 local time (2003 GMT), after a delay of 18 minutes. The pilot reported a "double bird strike" less than a minute after take-off and asked to return to the ground, before ditching in the Hudson. Ferryboats arrived within minutes of the crash to begin the rescue as passengers emerged in life jackets. The temperature was almost -7C and the current in the Hudson was running rapidly. The plane moved rapidly down river, threatening to submerge at one point, until guided to a halt by tug boats against a pier.