Five Years Later, the Miracle on the Hudson Still Awes Aviation

US Airways Flight 1549
Just minutes after US Airways Flight 1549 left LaGuardia Airport in Queens five years ago, a flock of geese invaded the craft’s engines, forcing the plane into a watery emergency landing that became known as the Miracle on the Hudson and helped define a modern version of heroism.

The scene of passengers standing on the wings of the airplane, floating in the cold waters of the Hudson River, waiting for rescue, became the image of a miracle and turned the crew, and especially Capt. Chesley Sullenberger III, into heroes. The water landing, the survival of all parties and Sullenberger’s modesty all conspired to make the man known as “Sully” a household name.

“We were all of a sudden confronted with an ultimate challenge of a lifetime — one we never trained for,” Sullenberger said Wednesday on “CBS This Morning.” He, other crew members, passengers and rescuers were to participate in a ceremony in New York to commemorate the events of Jan. 15, 2009.

The plane’s plight unfolded on live television as the nation watched the emergency with growing dread — an event that ended with a sigh of relief heard around the world.

 MORE: http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-anniversary-miracle-hudson-sully-