The Miracle on the Hudson, Ejection Database, and A319 Landing Incident

Anniversary of the Miracle on the Hudson
One year after the ditching of US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River, the NTSB investigation is still ongoing. While the investigation may not be completed for several months, there is a large amount of information from the investigation that is available for the public to review. The NTSB information page on last June's public meeting about the accident has links to past NTSB press releases, and links to transcripts and videos from the three day public hearing. Additional information on the accident is available at the NTSB's public docket for this investigation.

Ejection Seat Database
If you ever had a question about military plane crashes featuring the use of an ejection seat, then Project Get Out and Walk is worth a visit. The site is an illustrated history of assisted aircrew escape system and has a database of all known ejections and bailouts, with ejections listed by year, country, and aircraft.

United Airlines Emergency Landing at Newark
On January 10th, a United Airlines Airbus A319 (N816UA, flight 634)was damaged when it landed at Newark's Liberty International Airport with its right hand main landing gear retracted. The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Chicago's O'Hare airport, to Newark, and the flight was normal until approach, when the crew experienced problems with lowering the landing gear.

The crew carried out a missed approach, and later landed with the right main gear retracted and came to rest on the runway, damaging the right engine and the underside of the aircraft. All 48 passengers and five crew members evacuated using the emergency slides and there were no major injuries.

This being the Twitter era, it isn't surprising that there were a few Tweets (Twitter posts) on this event. A passenger on another aircraft with Twitter name @expodebbie said: On runway. Newark just closed. Another aircraft with bad landing- mechanical issues. Emergency vehicles. Zero idea just how bad. 6:28 AM Jan 10th

Below are several photos of the damaged aircraft, plus a video of the actual landing taken from the cockpit of another aircraft.

Midair Collision over the Hudson

8 August 2009; Eurocopter and Piper Saratoga, Hudson River, near New York City: A single-engine aircraft and a sightseeing helicopter collided at about noon over the Hudson River near Manhattan. Three people were aboard the single-engine Piper PA-32R-300 (N71MC), and the flight plan indicated the aircraft was heading from Teterboro Airport in Teaneck, New Jersey to Ocean City, New Jersey. The Saratoga took off from Teterboro shortly before noon local time.


On board were a pilot and two passengers, including one teenager. The Liberty Harbor Sightseeing Tours helicopter, a Eurocopter AS350 (N401LH), took off from Pier 30 in Manhattan, near West 30th Street, and reportedly had one pilot and five Italian tourists on board. Two of those tourists were also teenagers.


According to eyewitnesses, the collision occurred over the Hudson, in the area between the Lincoln and Holland tunnels. The right wing was sheared off the Cherokee, and it corkscrewed into the Hudson. The helicopter was also seen falling into the Hudson, shedding debris, including helicopter blades on the way down. Some of the debris landed in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Both aircraft sank immediately after hitting the water near the New Jersey side of the Hudson near Hoboken. This is an area east of where West 14th Street in Manhattan meets the Hudson.


One body was found floating in the river, and several others were found in a piece of wreckage. No survivors have been found from either aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board has dispatched a Go Team to investigate the midair collision.

Fatal Midair Events Involving Airliners

NTSB Database
Fatal Eurocopter AS350 Events
Fatal Piper Saratoga Events (PA-32R-300)