Just moments after the flight disappears from radar, it skims along the surface of the water before coming to a stop among the waves. With frigid water leaking into the fuselage, everyone on board quickly evacuates the aircraft and waits in the wings for rescuers to arrive. Amazingly, all 155 passengers and crew survive. The pilots become instant heroes!

Want to watch more episodes from season 10? Watch them here: https://bit.ly/3AAx8Hq

From Season 10 Episode 5 "Hudson River Runway": January 15th, 2009 — For the first time, United Airlines Captain Chesley Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles are paired together for a short flight from New York’s La Guardia Airport to Charlotte North Carolina. On this leg of the flight, it’s First Officer Skiles who will pilot the Airbus A-320 out of New York. Less than two minutes into the flight the aircraft collides with a flock of birds. It only takes a few seconds for both engines to roll back to idle.

The plane is powerless and dropping from the sky. Sullenberger’s reaction is immediate, he takes control of the plane by informing his First Officer “my aircraft”. First Officer Skiles’ priority is now to restart the engines. Captain Sullenberger and Air Traffic Controller Patrick Harten quickly weigh the options; return to La Guardia, fly to New Jersey? Sullenberger makes the most important decision of his long career “we’re going to be in the Hudson” he informs the controller.

The 150 passengers on board know there’s trouble, but not until they hear the Captain’s chilling announcement “brace for impact” do they know how bad it is. In the cockpit Sullenberg and Skiles prepare to put their aircraft down on the icy Hudson River. Water ditchings are rarely successful, and they know it.

Welcome to the OFFICIAL Mayday: Air Disaster YouTube Channel.

Mayday: Air Disaster is a dramatic non-fiction series that investigates high-profile air disasters to uncover how and why they happened. Mayday: Air Disaster follows survivors, family members of crash victims and transportation safety investigators as they piece together the evidence of the causes of major accidents. So climb into the cockpit for an experience you won’t soon forget.

Subscribe to the OFFICIAL Mayday: Air Disaster channel here: https://bit.ly/2PQnaMI

#MaydayAirDisaster #MaydayInvestigation #AirEmergency #MaydayEpisodes #planecrashes #airplanecrashes #aviationaccidents #Fullepisode #airplanedisasterdocumentary #aircrashinvestigation #HudsonRiverRunway #UnitedAirlines