New Flight 1549 (Hudson River) Video

[Numo]

It looks like people were able to get out and inflate a raft very quickly after the plane ditched.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009...ding.coned

[jardster]

Yikes... looks like one of the first people out on the left side of the plane jumped into the water... all the rest hung out on the wing.

[SKYLANE]

This tidbit of info was being passed around in an email I received recently. I don't have a source of the information. Seems appropriate to post it here:

There's been much discussion about US Airways Flight 1549 and the extraordinary circumstances that befell the Airbus A320-200 (N106US) and her compliment of 150 passengers and 5 crew. At least preliminarily, it appears a double bird strike disabled each of theCFM56-5B4/P engine forcingCaptain C.B. Sullenberger IIIand his First Officerto ditch the jetliner in the Hudson River.

As the aircraft was making its 'final approach' to the Hudson, the crew was preparing the aircraft and its passengers for the water landing, including, some speculate, by activating the ditching system on the A320. The button, cleverly labeled 'ditching', is located on the 'Cabin Press' section of the overhead panel shown above.

So what does that infrequently used button actually do?

When pressed, it commands the aircraft operating system to close the outflow valve, emergency ram air inlet, avionics inlet, extract valve and flow control valve. In addition, it will immediately shutdown the cabin fans. The button itself has a guard over it to prevent accidental activation. The system is available on all A320 family, A340/A330 and A380 aircraft.

According to the A320 quick reference guide, the ditching procedure calls for Flaps 3 and a minimum approach speed of 150 kts. The system should be activated at 2000 feet AGL and Airbus recommends 11 degrees of pitch at the time of touchdown.

The ultimate purpose of the system is to seal the aircraft to prevent water from undermining the buoyancy of the aircraft to keep it afloat in the event that the airframe remains intact after impacting the water. Federal Aviation RegulationPart 25, Section 801describes the safety requirements in the event of a ditching:
(d) It must be shown that, under reasonably probable water conditions, the flotation time and trim of the airplane will allow the occupants to leave the airplane and enter the liferafts required by25.1415. If compliance with this provision is shown by buoyancy and trim computations, appropriate allowances must be made for probable structural damage and leakage. If the airplane has fuel tanks (with fuel jettisoning provisions) that can reasonably be expected to withstand a ditching without leakage, the jettisonable volume of fuel may be considered as buoyancy volume.
It's not hard to imagine that this live test of the 'Ditching' system was a resounding success.

[bfd]

jardster wrote:
Yikes... looks like one of the first people out on the left side of the plane jumped into the water... all the rest hung out on the wing.

Dumas. …but the guy probably just didn't know what else he was supposed to do. Most people would'a thought twice about hitting THAT water, or at least hung out near the exit to help others out of the aircraft.

Let that be a lesson to all passengers… Remain on the wing in an standing position until the plane sinks.

[anonymouse1]

I read they formed a three-man human chain to pull him back out.

[GGD]

SKYLANE wrote:
It's not hard to imagine that this live test of the 'Ditching' system was a resounding success.

I read a report the other day quoting the NTSB saying that the crew never got far enough through the checklist to enable the 'Ditching' system.

It happened so fast, the pilots never had time to throw the aircraft's "ditch switch," which seals off vents and holes in the fuselage to make it more seaworthy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090118/ap_o...kpit_drama

[rgG]

I read an article in the paper just after the crash that said a woman slipped off the wing after exiting when she removed her high heeled shoes. The heels were hard for her to walk/stand in on the wing, but when she took them off the wing was slippery and she fell into the water. She said someone helped her out of the water and onto the wing, but she was still soaked and very cold. Yet another good reason never to wear heels on a plane.

[DewGuy]

jardster wrote:
Yikes... looks like one of the first people out on the left side of the plane jumped into the water... all the rest hung out on the wing.

I either saw that guy on the news or read a quote from him that said something to the effect that he was the first to the door after the attendant got it open, and they made him jump as he wanted to wait for the slide to deploy.

[Speedy]

Report on Faux News last night that Sully is nowhere to be found.

[GGD]

Speedy wrote:
Report on Faux News last night that Sully is nowhere to be found.

Report on CNN that Sully was getting "a hero's welcome Saturday in his California hometown"

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/24/califor...index.html