Two minutes into the takeoff, as the plane was climbing, it ran into a flock of Canada geese at 2800 feet. At least three geese got sucked into each of the two jet engines of the Airbus 320. The passengers heard very loud bangs as flames shot out of the engines. The pilots’ windscreen view became significantly obscured. This was followed by silence as both the engines shut down, and an odor of jet fuel permeated the cabin.
The plane continued to climb and reached 3000 feet, going at 185 knots. But, this was too slow a speed for the plane to return to LaGuardia airport or reach Teterboro airport across the Hudson river in New Jersey. The plane was over some of the most densely populated areas as it started gliding down, speeding up to 210 knots. It glided over the George Washington Bridge at less than 900 feet.
Now that the plane was stricken, within 19 seconds Sully made a mayday call and turned on the Auxiliary Power Unit to keep the control systems operational. Given that the plane continued to descend without power, Skiles’ reaction was to keep trying to restart the engines in vain for the next 148 seconds. With no other landing options and crash imminent, Sully spent the final minute fighting to keep the wings level and aimed the plane to splash-land near ferries that could provide immediate assistance.
The story ended happily as all 155 people on board were rescued by nearby boats, with only a few serious injuries. The media dubbed this water landing of a powerless jetliner with no deaths as "the Miracle on the Hudson" and a National Transportation Safety Board official described it as "the most successful ditching in aviation history." The pilots and flight attendants were awarded medals in recognition of their "heroic and unique aviation achievement."