Formation of bird flew into Flight 1549

Daily Mail:

Hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger has described for the first time the moment his passenger jet was crippled by a double bird strike over New York.

He told investigators how his cockpit windscreen suddenly filled with ‘big, dark brown birds,’ and how, moments later, he smelled ‘burning birds’ as both engines shut down.

Data from the flight data recorder showed that both engines lost power simultaneously.

Captain Sullenberger told air traffic control his jet was ‘too low, too slow’ and near too many tall buildings to reach an airport.

Heading for Teterboro airport in New Jersey would mean risking a 'catastrophic' crash in a populated neighborhood.

‘We can’t do it,’ he said. ‘We’re gonna be in the Hudson.’

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The Telegraph reported:

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The veteran pilot told crash investigators from the National Transport Safety Board that he heard a "thump" followed by "a smell of burning birds" and then "silence" as both the Airbus A320's engines cut out.

His first instinct as the birds struck was to duck and then he cried out "My aircraft!" when he realised what had happened.

Mr Sullenberger, 57, a former fighter pilot, said he then made a split-second decision to bring the aircraft down in the Hudson River because he knew it was "too low and too slow" to reach a safe landing spot without hitting nearby buildings, which would have caused a "catastrophic" crash.

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The birds were flying in formation right into the flight path of the plane. I am sure the roasted geese did not smell very savory.

I suspect that Sullenberger had thought about what his response would be if he lost power in that situation. He hit on landing in the Hudson almost immediately.

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