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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Inauguruation: Kennedy suffers seizure at Obama lunch
By Warren P. Strobel
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
WASHINGTON _ Sen. Edward Kennedy suffered a seizure Tuesday during an inaugural luncheon honoring President Barack Obama and was taken to a Washington-area hospital, a jarring note in the Capitol a little more than two hours after Obama took the oath of office.
Kennedy, 76, who had surgery after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor eight months ago, was said by Senate colleagues to be alert and speaking before being put into an ambulance.
He was taken to Washington Hospital Center, where he was being assessed.
Vickie Dempsey, a hospital spokeswoman, said Kennedy was awake and talking when he arrived at the hospital. Kennedy's wife, Victoria, and his son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., were with the senator, she said.
"Senator Edward Kennedy experienced a seizure today while attending a luncheon for President Barack Obama in the U.S. Capitol," said Dr. Edward Aulisi, the chairman of the neurosurgery department at Washington Hospital Center. "After testing, we believe the incident was brought on by simple fatigue. Senator Kennedy is awake, talking with family and friends, and feeling well. He will remain at the Washington Hospital Center overnight for observation, and will be released in the morning."
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., a close Kennedy friend who spoke to the ailing senator after the attack, said earlier that Kennedy would undergo medical scans in the coming days.
"The good news is he's going to be fine," Dodd said.
On May 17 last year, Kennedy had a seizure and was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was found to have a dangerous type of brain tumor.
He's since scaled back his work in the Senate. He was present _ and apparently in good spirits _ on the Capitol steps Tuesday, however, as Obama was sworn in as the nation's 44th president.
Kennedy had endorsed Obama at a crucial juncture in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, providing Obama's campaign with a much-needed boost.
Addressing the celebratory luncheon Tuesday in the U.S. Capitol building's Statuary Hall, whose 200 guests included members of Congress and former presidents, Obama said his thoughts were with Kennedy and his family.
"This is a joyous time, but it is also a sobering time," the new president said.
Kennedy's medical distress upset another ailing lawmaker, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who subsequently left the lunch early, according to a spokesman. Byrd, 91, later was reported to be in good condition.
Dodd said that the doctors who'd examined Kennedy "were satisfied that things were looking fine." He said Kennedy had talked to him as he was taken to the ambulance. "He was in distress and still reacting to the seizure."
Byrd, Dodd said, was "reacting to Ted having the apparent seizure."
___
McClatchy Newspapers correspondents Jonathan S. Landay and David Lightman contributed to this report.
___
© 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau on the World Wide Web at www.mcclatchydc.com.
_____
PHOTO (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): Inauguration+Ted+Kennedy
GRAPHIC (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): 20090120 Kennedy profile
McClatchy Newspapers
(MCT)
WASHINGTON _ Sen. Edward Kennedy suffered a seizure Tuesday during an inaugural luncheon honoring President Barack Obama and was taken to a Washington-area hospital, a jarring note in the Capitol a little more than two hours after Obama took the oath of office.
Kennedy, 76, who had surgery after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor eight months ago, was said by Senate colleagues to be alert and speaking before being put into an ambulance.
He was taken to Washington Hospital Center, where he was being assessed.
Vickie Dempsey, a hospital spokeswoman, said Kennedy was awake and talking when he arrived at the hospital. Kennedy's wife, Victoria, and his son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., were with the senator, she said.
"Senator Edward Kennedy experienced a seizure today while attending a luncheon for President Barack Obama in the U.S. Capitol," said Dr. Edward Aulisi, the chairman of the neurosurgery department at Washington Hospital Center. "After testing, we believe the incident was brought on by simple fatigue. Senator Kennedy is awake, talking with family and friends, and feeling well. He will remain at the Washington Hospital Center overnight for observation, and will be released in the morning."
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., a close Kennedy friend who spoke to the ailing senator after the attack, said earlier that Kennedy would undergo medical scans in the coming days.
"The good news is he's going to be fine," Dodd said.
On May 17 last year, Kennedy had a seizure and was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was found to have a dangerous type of brain tumor.
He's since scaled back his work in the Senate. He was present _ and apparently in good spirits _ on the Capitol steps Tuesday, however, as Obama was sworn in as the nation's 44th president.
Kennedy had endorsed Obama at a crucial juncture in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, providing Obama's campaign with a much-needed boost.
Addressing the celebratory luncheon Tuesday in the U.S. Capitol building's Statuary Hall, whose 200 guests included members of Congress and former presidents, Obama said his thoughts were with Kennedy and his family.
"This is a joyous time, but it is also a sobering time," the new president said.
Kennedy's medical distress upset another ailing lawmaker, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who subsequently left the lunch early, according to a spokesman. Byrd, 91, later was reported to be in good condition.
Dodd said that the doctors who'd examined Kennedy "were satisfied that things were looking fine." He said Kennedy had talked to him as he was taken to the ambulance. "He was in distress and still reacting to the seizure."
Byrd, Dodd said, was "reacting to Ted having the apparent seizure."
___
McClatchy Newspapers correspondents Jonathan S. Landay and David Lightman contributed to this report.
___
© 2009, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Visit the McClatchy Washington Bureau on the World Wide Web at www.mcclatchydc.com.
_____
PHOTO (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): Inauguration+Ted+Kennedy
GRAPHIC (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): 20090120 Kennedy profile
Inauguration: Obama takes office facing huge challenges both domestic and foreign
By Bill Lambrecht
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
(MCT)
WASHINGTON _ In entering the White House Tuesday after his history-shattering quest, Barack Obama walked a path toward becoming a president who could define an era.
That happens rarely: Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan each set America's course for decades. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and the first George Bush did not. George W. Bush had a consequential presidency, but it remains to be seen what will be good and lasting from the Bush years and what might haunt America.
Obama already has secured his niche by cracking cultural as well as political barriers in becoming the first African American president.
But he could have a far bigger place in history because of challenges that are his blessing as well as his curse, historians say.
In his words Tuesday in an incomparable setting _ with more than 1 million people sweeping out from the Capitol nearly to the horizon _ Obama exuded confidence that he could be a president who goes down in history for the change he brings.
His start was a clarion call for a new era of responsibility along with a pledge to the many who eagerly awaited his presidency to "begin again the work of remaking America."
"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered," Obama said.
What the nation needs, Obama said, "is a new era of responsibility_ a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly . . . This is the price and the promise of citizenship."
Obama already was seeing himself in the big picture, as a president confronting challenging times, as someone unafraid to warn of trouble ahead.
The inaugural oath has been spoken "during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace," Obama said. "Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms."
Times of trouble call for big solutions and often create powerful presidents. For the first time in more than a generation, Americans have a president with free rein to spend and spend some more: nearly $1 trillion in a far-reaching stimulus plan likely to have his imprint by mid-February.
The prospect of big things to come was the take-home message spelled out by Obama Tuesday.
"The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act," he said. "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works _ whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care that they can afford, a retirement that is dignified."
Historians say that it is not unusual for a new president to be ambitious, to suggest that America's problem-solving emanate from the White House like spokes from a wheel's center. But the ambition of Obama's speech was extraordinary, presidential scholar Richard Brody said.
"He has really grabbed hold of what's going on and that he's going to hit the ground running and be more than first among equals," said Brody, a professor emeritus at Stanford University.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., among a select few who prayed with Obama on Tuesday before journeying up Pennsylvania Avenue to the inauguration, said it's often the miniscule _ not the big issues of the day _ that confound Obama.
"There's a certain irony," she said. "Because if there was something (that) frustrated my friend on the campaign, it was the trivial and the ticky tacky; the lipstick on a pig, the flag pin. All of those things drove him crazy," she said. "I know that he's energized and excited about the weight of the matters he's got to deal with."
The setting Tuesday was as remarkable as the moment, telling a tale of a man who thus far appears right for the times and in tune with the people. That connection was apparent in the joy that spread across the National Mall.
Despite an icy wind that clawed out of the southwest, an electric charge shot through the throngs that made up Washington's biggest crowd in its 219-year history. Block after block of barricaded streets were given over to hundreds of stands selling T-shirts, posters, calendars, mugs and all things Obama.
The city was engulfed in unbridled Obamania.
"I am 33 years old as of yesterday, and this is the best birthday of my life. I'm so excited about a new era," said April Breeden, of St. Louis.
"This was one of the best days of my life," echoed Terry Waldron, 60, a high school teacher from Sparta Ill. "And I think we are going to see some big changes in this country."
Dan Beiser, a Democratic state representative from Alton, Ill., felt the groove near the front of the crowd. "I wish there was some way to capture the feeling and give it to everybody else," he said. "There's renewed hope."
___
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch staffer writers Kevin McDermott and Jake Wagman contributed to this report.)
___
© 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Visit the Post-Dispatch on the World Wide Web at http://www.stltoday.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
_____
PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): inauguration
GRAPHICS (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): inauguration
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
(MCT)
WASHINGTON _ In entering the White House Tuesday after his history-shattering quest, Barack Obama walked a path toward becoming a president who could define an era.
That happens rarely: Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan each set America's course for decades. Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and the first George Bush did not. George W. Bush had a consequential presidency, but it remains to be seen what will be good and lasting from the Bush years and what might haunt America.
Obama already has secured his niche by cracking cultural as well as political barriers in becoming the first African American president.
But he could have a far bigger place in history because of challenges that are his blessing as well as his curse, historians say.
In his words Tuesday in an incomparable setting _ with more than 1 million people sweeping out from the Capitol nearly to the horizon _ Obama exuded confidence that he could be a president who goes down in history for the change he brings.
His start was a clarion call for a new era of responsibility along with a pledge to the many who eagerly awaited his presidency to "begin again the work of remaking America."
"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered," Obama said.
What the nation needs, Obama said, "is a new era of responsibility_ a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly . . . This is the price and the promise of citizenship."
Obama already was seeing himself in the big picture, as a president confronting challenging times, as someone unafraid to warn of trouble ahead.
The inaugural oath has been spoken "during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace," Obama said. "Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms."
Times of trouble call for big solutions and often create powerful presidents. For the first time in more than a generation, Americans have a president with free rein to spend and spend some more: nearly $1 trillion in a far-reaching stimulus plan likely to have his imprint by mid-February.
The prospect of big things to come was the take-home message spelled out by Obama Tuesday.
"The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act," he said. "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works _ whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care that they can afford, a retirement that is dignified."
Historians say that it is not unusual for a new president to be ambitious, to suggest that America's problem-solving emanate from the White House like spokes from a wheel's center. But the ambition of Obama's speech was extraordinary, presidential scholar Richard Brody said.
"He has really grabbed hold of what's going on and that he's going to hit the ground running and be more than first among equals," said Brody, a professor emeritus at Stanford University.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., among a select few who prayed with Obama on Tuesday before journeying up Pennsylvania Avenue to the inauguration, said it's often the miniscule _ not the big issues of the day _ that confound Obama.
"There's a certain irony," she said. "Because if there was something (that) frustrated my friend on the campaign, it was the trivial and the ticky tacky; the lipstick on a pig, the flag pin. All of those things drove him crazy," she said. "I know that he's energized and excited about the weight of the matters he's got to deal with."
The setting Tuesday was as remarkable as the moment, telling a tale of a man who thus far appears right for the times and in tune with the people. That connection was apparent in the joy that spread across the National Mall.
Despite an icy wind that clawed out of the southwest, an electric charge shot through the throngs that made up Washington's biggest crowd in its 219-year history. Block after block of barricaded streets were given over to hundreds of stands selling T-shirts, posters, calendars, mugs and all things Obama.
The city was engulfed in unbridled Obamania.
"I am 33 years old as of yesterday, and this is the best birthday of my life. I'm so excited about a new era," said April Breeden, of St. Louis.
"This was one of the best days of my life," echoed Terry Waldron, 60, a high school teacher from Sparta Ill. "And I think we are going to see some big changes in this country."
Dan Beiser, a Democratic state representative from Alton, Ill., felt the groove near the front of the crowd. "I wish there was some way to capture the feeling and give it to everybody else," he said. "There's renewed hope."
___
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch staffer writers Kevin McDermott and Jake Wagman contributed to this report.)
___
© 2009, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Visit the Post-Dispatch on the World Wide Web at http://www.stltoday.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
_____
PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): inauguration
GRAPHICS (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): inauguration
Inauguration Coverage: Obama's inaugural address deemed 'entirely appropriate to the time'
By Frank Davies
San Jose Mercury News
(MCT)
WASHINGTON _ Looking out at a two-mile-long block party reveling in history, Barack Obama took the reins of power as the 44th president with a somber, purposeful speech that blended stern warnings with a promise of action.
"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious, and they are many," Obama said. "They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met."
Obama's 18-minute inaugural address stressed pragmatism and sacrifice in overcoming deep economic crises, as well as "a new era of responsibility" and national service, and it marked a clean break with the George W. Bush presidency.
Obama listed a litany of problems, from lost jobs to failed schools, and said the nation's "badly weakened economy" was the result of "greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age."
The new president, who made ending the war in Iraq a major part of his campaign, also said: "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect."
The simple, powerful reality that Obama _ the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya _ became the first African-American president was not a major theme of his speech. It did not have to be.
Everyone was aware of it.
Obama's only reference to the issue was to marvel at how "a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."
Obama took the oath on a Bible used by Abraham Lincoln in 1861.
Lincoln's oath was administered by Chief Justice Roger Taney, who wrote the Supreme Court decision upholding slavery in the Dred Scott case.
This history was not lost on Leslie Minor, a 49-year-old automotive manager from Long Beach, Calif., who is also biracial. Watching Obama take the oath "was overwhelming, hard to describe _ it shows a lot of growth in the country," she said.
Minor said Obama's speech was "sober and serious," a quick assessment that mirrored the analysis of historians and politicians.
Some analysts said it lacked the soaring oratory of Obama's campaign speeches but reflected a down-to-earth approach to the nation's dire economic problems.
Larry Berman, a University of California-Davis professor who studies the presidency, said he was struck by Obama's "somber reminder that we have deep economic problems, but they are not insoluble."
"He delivered a forceful speech, designed to allay the fears of Americans about the future," Berman said. The speech was not as inspirational as other Obama orations, but "was entirely appropriate to the time."
Several analysts detected a touch of Franklin Roosevelt in the way Obama melded harsh warnings about the economy with a confidence boost that he _ and the nation's citizens _ were ready to tackle big problems with big plans.
"He challenged Americans to make hard choices and sacrifices with a message of tough times ahead and a more buoyant message of promise and economic possibility," said Matt Dallek, a former speechwriter and historian teaching at the University of California Washington Center.
Obama used simple language and a direct approach to frame his admonitions: "Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and begin anew the work of remaking America."
But Obama's speech was not programmatic and did not spell out any detailed solutions. He did make a tech-friendly pledge of building "the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together," and he said "we will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."
Obama's campaign mobilized a new generation of voters, and the turnout of 2 million or so in Washington was a testament to his wide appeal. The new 47-year-old president claimed a mandate for bold action, despite the doubts of many.
"What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply," he said.
___
© 2009, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.).
Visit MercuryNews.com, the World Wide Web site of the Mercury News, at http://www.mercurynews.com.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
_____
PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099):
Friday, January 16, 2009
Plane Goes Down in Hudson River; All 155 Passengers Rescued
By Bart Jones
Newsday
(MCT)
NEW YORK - They all got out alive.
The 155 passengers and crew aboard US Airways Flight 1549 scrambled to safety Thursday after the jet's pilot coolly landed the aircraft in the frigid waters of the Hudson River and a fleet of ferry boats helped pluck the passengers off the wings, where they stood waiting.
Just three minutes after taking off from LaGuardia at 3:24 p.m., pilot Chesley Sullenberger radioed the tower that both engines on the twin-engine Airbus A320 had shut down after it apparently flew into a flock of geese. At 3:30 p.m., the pilot landed the craft in the Hudson.
The textbook landing, after the jet had climbed to at least 3,200 feet, was followed by a textbook rescue, as commuter ferries and emergency boats quickly scooped up the passengers as the jet floated in the water near 48th Street on one of the coldest days of the year. One victim suffered two broken legs, a paramedic said, but there were no reports of other serious injuries. Uninjured passengers were to be reunited with family members last night at the Crowne Plaza at LaGuardia Airport.
"We've had a miracle on 34th Street," Gov. David A. Paterson said at a news conference a few hours after the emergency landing. "I believe now we've had a miracle on the Hudson."
Sullenberger, 57, of Danville, Calif., "did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure everyone got out," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
One eyewitness, Ben Vonklemperer, said "it looked like any other routine landing of a plane, except that it was on water. If you want to land a plane on the water, this is exactly how to do it."
Within minutes, passengers were able to emerge from the aircraft and, in a surreal scene, stood on the plane's crowded wings as they waited to be rescued.
They described harrowing moments shortly after takeoff when they heard an explosion and looked out to see at least one of the engines on fire. "The left engine just blew," said survivor Jeff Kolodjay of Norwalk, Conn. "I was looking right at it because I was right there."
"We thought we were going to circle around, but we didn't have time. The captain said, 'Brace for impact because we're going down.' "
He said people put their heads on their laps and started praying. Kolodjay looked out over the water and "thought we had a chance" to survive. He said a Hail Mary.
"We hit the water pretty hard," he said, adding that some people hit their heads on the ceiling. "It was intense. It was intense. You've got to give it to the pilot. He made a hell of a landing."
Passenger Bill Zuhoski, 23, of Cutchogue, N.Y., said, "People rushed to the back of the plane. I thought I was going to drown back there. For a second I thought I was just going to die." Immersed in water almost up to his neck, he stripped off his clothes, thinking it would be easier to swim.
Another passenger, Fred Berretta, who was on his way home to Charlotte, N.C., from a business trip, told CNN the doors were opened on both sides of the plane "as soon as we hit the water."
As the passengers tried to scramble out, it was chaos, Kolodjay said. One woman with a baby, seated near the back, tried to crawl over the seat in front of her. "I just kept saying, 'relax, relax. Women and children first,' " Kolodjay said. "And then it (the plane) started filling with water _ fast."
Still, Bloomberg said Sullenberger had enough time to walk through the slowly sinking plane twice to make sure all the passengers were out _ either standing on the wings or in life rafts. Bloomberg said police divers had to rescue some of the passengers underwater. The one infant aboard appeared to be uninjured.
Berretta said he was part of a group that climbed onto the left wing. He said the wing was dipping into the water and "our initial thought was to see if the plane was sinking or if it would float. Our feet were pretty much in the water." Others such as Zuhoski managed to get into life rafts.
A commuter ferry, the Thomas Jefferson of the company NY Waterway, arrived within minutes of the crash, and some of its own riders grabbed life vests and lines of rope and tossed them to plane passengers in the water. At least two people were in the water when they arrived.
"They were cheering when we pulled up," ferry captain Vincent Lombardi said. "We had to pull an elderly woman out of a raft in a sling. She was crying ... People were panicking. They said, 'hurry up, hurry up.' We gave them the jackets off our backs."
Crew member Hector Rabanes said: "The first time we saw it, it's like, is this happening?" The Thomas Jefferson and other ferries approached slowly to avoid washing passengers off the plane with the wake.
Two police scuba divers said they pulled another woman from a lifeboat "frightened out of her mind" and lethargic from hypothermia. Another woman fell off a rescue raft, and the divers said they swam over and put her on a Coast Guard boat.
The Coast Guard estimated the water was 36 degrees, while the air was 20 degrees. Some passengers suffering from hypothermia had to be wrapped in blankets. Paramedics treated at least 78 people, fire officials said.
In a statement, President George W. Bush said he and his wife, Laura, were "inspired by the skill and heroism of the flight crew as well as the dedication and selflessness of the emergency responders and volunteers who rescued passengers from the icy waters of the Hudson."
For some Manhattan residents, the sight of an airplane catapulting toward the Hudson River evoked fears of another Sept. 11-style attack. "I thought it was going to turn into a building," Alyse Zucker told WNBC/4. But the pilot "landed it on the water ... like he was landing on a runway."
Authorities said there were no indications terrorism was involved.
Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said when an air controller initially told the pilot to divert to an airport in nearby Teterboro, N.J. It was not clear why the pilot did not land at Teterboro.
Survivor Dave Sanderson, 47, of Charlotte, said he was lucky to be alive. "The pilot, he's the hero," Sanderson said. "The grace of God got me off that plane."
___
(Stacey Altherr, Bill Bleyer, Sid Cassese, Sophia Chang, Tony DeStefano, Reid Epstein, Ann Givens, Keith Herbert, Kathleen Kerr, Melanie Lefkowitz, Carl MacGowan, Jennifer Maloney, Rocco Parascandola, Joie Tyrrell, Marc Beja and Daniel Edward Rosen contributed to this report.)
___
© 2009, Newsday.
Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
_____
PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): PLANEDOWN
GRAPHIC (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): 20090115 PLANE DOWN
Newsday
(MCT)
NEW YORK - They all got out alive.
The 155 passengers and crew aboard US Airways Flight 1549 scrambled to safety Thursday after the jet's pilot coolly landed the aircraft in the frigid waters of the Hudson River and a fleet of ferry boats helped pluck the passengers off the wings, where they stood waiting.
Just three minutes after taking off from LaGuardia at 3:24 p.m., pilot Chesley Sullenberger radioed the tower that both engines on the twin-engine Airbus A320 had shut down after it apparently flew into a flock of geese. At 3:30 p.m., the pilot landed the craft in the Hudson.
The textbook landing, after the jet had climbed to at least 3,200 feet, was followed by a textbook rescue, as commuter ferries and emergency boats quickly scooped up the passengers as the jet floated in the water near 48th Street on one of the coldest days of the year. One victim suffered two broken legs, a paramedic said, but there were no reports of other serious injuries. Uninjured passengers were to be reunited with family members last night at the Crowne Plaza at LaGuardia Airport.
"We've had a miracle on 34th Street," Gov. David A. Paterson said at a news conference a few hours after the emergency landing. "I believe now we've had a miracle on the Hudson."
Sullenberger, 57, of Danville, Calif., "did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure everyone got out," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
One eyewitness, Ben Vonklemperer, said "it looked like any other routine landing of a plane, except that it was on water. If you want to land a plane on the water, this is exactly how to do it."
Within minutes, passengers were able to emerge from the aircraft and, in a surreal scene, stood on the plane's crowded wings as they waited to be rescued.
They described harrowing moments shortly after takeoff when they heard an explosion and looked out to see at least one of the engines on fire. "The left engine just blew," said survivor Jeff Kolodjay of Norwalk, Conn. "I was looking right at it because I was right there."
"We thought we were going to circle around, but we didn't have time. The captain said, 'Brace for impact because we're going down.' "
He said people put their heads on their laps and started praying. Kolodjay looked out over the water and "thought we had a chance" to survive. He said a Hail Mary.
"We hit the water pretty hard," he said, adding that some people hit their heads on the ceiling. "It was intense. It was intense. You've got to give it to the pilot. He made a hell of a landing."
Passenger Bill Zuhoski, 23, of Cutchogue, N.Y., said, "People rushed to the back of the plane. I thought I was going to drown back there. For a second I thought I was just going to die." Immersed in water almost up to his neck, he stripped off his clothes, thinking it would be easier to swim.
Another passenger, Fred Berretta, who was on his way home to Charlotte, N.C., from a business trip, told CNN the doors were opened on both sides of the plane "as soon as we hit the water."
As the passengers tried to scramble out, it was chaos, Kolodjay said. One woman with a baby, seated near the back, tried to crawl over the seat in front of her. "I just kept saying, 'relax, relax. Women and children first,' " Kolodjay said. "And then it (the plane) started filling with water _ fast."
Still, Bloomberg said Sullenberger had enough time to walk through the slowly sinking plane twice to make sure all the passengers were out _ either standing on the wings or in life rafts. Bloomberg said police divers had to rescue some of the passengers underwater. The one infant aboard appeared to be uninjured.
Berretta said he was part of a group that climbed onto the left wing. He said the wing was dipping into the water and "our initial thought was to see if the plane was sinking or if it would float. Our feet were pretty much in the water." Others such as Zuhoski managed to get into life rafts.
A commuter ferry, the Thomas Jefferson of the company NY Waterway, arrived within minutes of the crash, and some of its own riders grabbed life vests and lines of rope and tossed them to plane passengers in the water. At least two people were in the water when they arrived.
"They were cheering when we pulled up," ferry captain Vincent Lombardi said. "We had to pull an elderly woman out of a raft in a sling. She was crying ... People were panicking. They said, 'hurry up, hurry up.' We gave them the jackets off our backs."
Crew member Hector Rabanes said: "The first time we saw it, it's like, is this happening?" The Thomas Jefferson and other ferries approached slowly to avoid washing passengers off the plane with the wake.
Two police scuba divers said they pulled another woman from a lifeboat "frightened out of her mind" and lethargic from hypothermia. Another woman fell off a rescue raft, and the divers said they swam over and put her on a Coast Guard boat.
The Coast Guard estimated the water was 36 degrees, while the air was 20 degrees. Some passengers suffering from hypothermia had to be wrapped in blankets. Paramedics treated at least 78 people, fire officials said.
In a statement, President George W. Bush said he and his wife, Laura, were "inspired by the skill and heroism of the flight crew as well as the dedication and selflessness of the emergency responders and volunteers who rescued passengers from the icy waters of the Hudson."
For some Manhattan residents, the sight of an airplane catapulting toward the Hudson River evoked fears of another Sept. 11-style attack. "I thought it was going to turn into a building," Alyse Zucker told WNBC/4. But the pilot "landed it on the water ... like he was landing on a runway."
Authorities said there were no indications terrorism was involved.
Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said when an air controller initially told the pilot to divert to an airport in nearby Teterboro, N.J. It was not clear why the pilot did not land at Teterboro.
Survivor Dave Sanderson, 47, of Charlotte, said he was lucky to be alive. "The pilot, he's the hero," Sanderson said. "The grace of God got me off that plane."
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(Stacey Altherr, Bill Bleyer, Sid Cassese, Sophia Chang, Tony DeStefano, Reid Epstein, Ann Givens, Keith Herbert, Kathleen Kerr, Melanie Lefkowitz, Carl MacGowan, Jennifer Maloney, Rocco Parascandola, Joie Tyrrell, Marc Beja and Daniel Edward Rosen contributed to this report.)
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© 2009, Newsday.
Visit Newsday online at http://www.newsday.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
_____
PHOTOS (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099): PLANEDOWN
GRAPHIC (from MCT Graphics, 202-383-6064): 20090115 PLANE DOWN
Thursday, January 15, 2009
5 PM Update: Plane Crash in Hudson River
A happy ending to a scary situation in New York City earlier this afternoon.
Reports indicate all 146 passengers and five crew members have been rescued from a US Airways flight that made an emergency landing in the Hudson River around 3:30 this afternoon.
The plane took off from LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte North Carolina. Initial reports indicate a flock of birds may have been sucked into two engine causing them to fail. The pilot was able to make a safe and heroic landing in the river, where ferries and rafts rescued the passengers and crew from the 42 degree water. It is currently not believed anyone suffered serious injuries in the accident.
Family members who had relatives on board can call US Airways at 1-800-679-8215. A staging area has been set up at the LaGuardia Holiday Inn.
Reports indicate all 146 passengers and five crew members have been rescued from a US Airways flight that made an emergency landing in the Hudson River around 3:30 this afternoon.
The plane took off from LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte North Carolina. Initial reports indicate a flock of birds may have been sucked into two engine causing them to fail. The pilot was able to make a safe and heroic landing in the river, where ferries and rafts rescued the passengers and crew from the 42 degree water. It is currently not believed anyone suffered serious injuries in the accident.
Family members who had relatives on board can call US Airways at 1-800-679-8215. A staging area has been set up at the LaGuardia Holiday Inn.
BREAKING NEWS: US Airways Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Hudson
4:30 PM UPDATE:
US Airways flight 1549 from LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte North Carolina has made an emergency landing in New York's Hudson River.
Emergency personnel from both New York and New Jersey are on scene. The Airbus 1549 is partially a float in the river, where the water temperature is 42 degrees with a wind chill of 11 degrees. There were 146 passengers on board and 5 crew members. Survivors are being picked up by ferries and rafts and taken back to shore for medical attention.
Reports are telling us the plane may have lost an engine about 6 minutes after take off.
Individuals who believe they have family members on board the flight can call US Airways at 1-800-679-8215.
US Airways flight 1549 from LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte North Carolina has made an emergency landing in New York's Hudson River.
Emergency personnel from both New York and New Jersey are on scene. The Airbus 1549 is partially a float in the river, where the water temperature is 42 degrees with a wind chill of 11 degrees. There were 146 passengers on board and 5 crew members. Survivors are being picked up by ferries and rafts and taken back to shore for medical attention.
Reports are telling us the plane may have lost an engine about 6 minutes after take off.
Individuals who believe they have family members on board the flight can call US Airways at 1-800-679-8215.
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