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13 years ago today the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ happened | Univision 41 New York WXTV

This Saturday marks the 13th anniversary of the so-called ‘Miracle on the Hudson’, the aerial feat in which pilot Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger saved the lives of 155 people.

It all started on January 15, 2009, when US Airways flight 1549 took off from LaGuardia Airport in New York, but minutes later it was hit head-on by a flock of geese that damaged both engines, a situation that forced pilot Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger to land in the Hudson River.

One of the passengers recalls the impact that this miraculous event has had on their lives: “The only thing that really strikes me is that 155 people who didn’t know or care about each other really came together. It’s something that has never been done, I didn’t care if you were white, black, Asian, gay, lesbian, straight, they all consulted each other and had only one mission: nobody dies today.

NY Waterways helped bring to the coast 143 of the 155 passengers and crew. The first to arrive on the scene was Captain Vincent Lombardi, who saw the plane crash into the Hudson River and arrived with his boat three minutes later.

“When I get there, I saw people walking on the water, which was another site that initially misled me. then i realized that they walked on submerged wings”, he described.

And that is, in fact. Sullenberger did what seemed impossible and managed to safely land the plane in the middle of the Hudson River. And with that he triggered the most successful sea rescue in aviation history.

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