Wednesday, January 21, 2009

US Airways Flight 1549 Ditching: NTSB Factual Update

NTSB logoEarlier today, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a factual update on the investigation of US Airways Flight 1549 accident, that is, the A320 that ditched in the Hudson River in New York on the afternoon of January 15, 2009. Information released today focused primarily on the aircraft's engines.

The number one (left) engine, which separated from the aircraft's wing, has been located in about 50 feet of water near the area of the Hudson River where the aircraft ditched, according to the NTSB. Work is underway to recover the engine.

The number two (right) engine has undergone a preliminary external examination. The NTSB says:
An examination of the first stage fan blades revealed evidence of soft body impact damage. Three of the variable guide vanes are fractured and two are missing. The engine's electronic control unit is missing and numerous internal components of the engine were significantly damaged.

What appears to be organic material was found in the right engine and on the wings and fuselage. Samples of the material have been provided to the United States Department of Agriculture for a complete DNA analysis. A single feather was found attached to a flap track on the wing. It is being sent to bird identification experts at the Smithsonian.
Readers will recall that a multiple bird strike during climb-out is widely believed to have started the sequence of events that resulted in the ditching.

The NTSB also confirmed that on January 13, 2009 -- two days before the accident flight -- the aircraft's number two engine "experienced a surge during a flight" and that "subsequent maintenance actions included the replacement of a temperature probe."

Passenger interviews by the NTSB's Survival Factors group are still underway, concerning "the events surrounding the ditching and the emergency evacuation and rescue." In addition, US Airways flight operations training personnel are being interviewed by the NTSB's Operations and Human Performance group.

The NTSB expects that the on-scene documentation of the airplane will be completed by the end of the week. Preparations are underway to move the aircraft to a more permanent storage location so that more detailed documentation of the damage can be performed at a later date.

RELATED: Click here to view all posts about US Airways Flt 1549 on Aircrew Buzz.
Posted by B. N. Sullivan at 12:50
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7 comments:

  1. As a regular business traveler I want to salute the captain and entire crew of USA 1549. Brilliant job!

    BUT, and yes there is a "but", I am very concerned about how the aircraft came to rest in the river, with the aft cabin doors partially submerged. According to one account, someone opened one of the aft doors and water rushed in. All of the emergency procedures placards you find in an aircraft seat pocket show water ditching with the aircraft floating level and escape slides/rafts deployed forward and aft. The A-320 in this case came to rest tail-down and the aft door slides/rafts were unusable. If that ditching had taken place anywhere else where rescue craft were not immediately available, I fear the outcome would have been quite different. Without the rear rafts, there would not have been space for all of the passengers and crew in the forward rafts. The wings were where the vast majority of passengers ended up but they began to submerge rather quickly as the aircraft filled. If it were not for the fast and efficient rescue efforts, many passengers would have been forced into the freezing water in lifejackets where they would have quickly succumbed to hypothermia.

    Is there any investigation into how the aircraft came to rest and the potential implications of the submerged doors?
    ReplyDelete
  2. Newsday is reporting that the salvage of the Airbus-on-the-Hudson second engine has again been delayed.

    After all, they have to give the FAA and NTSB more time to throw even more goose giblets and feathers into the turbine.
    ReplyDelete
  3. Any chance that the captain flew into the Hudson on purpose?
    The United Geese Union (UgU) submits this pledge on behalf of geese around the world. Put simply, we will disprove Captain Sullenberger ’s account of the events on January 15 2009. The UgU asserts that Sullenberger’s purposely crashed his plane into the Hudson River in an effort to circumvent US Airway’s decision to remove free water from flights.
    More info at www.mouseandman.com/blog
    ReplyDelete
  4. this is all bs
    aircraft should have been able to return to LGA
    air bus faulty eng program made it impossible regain control of the engines and return to LGA
    NTSB did not have the guts to say was wrong
    Capt Sully should have said the air bus has programing problems
    He should have landed fith full flaps not flaps 5
    ReplyDelete
  5. It is all a cover up.
    No reason to have ended up in the Hudson.
    Faulty Air Bus programing.
    ReplyDelete
  6. The NSTB never addressed the Captain landing with 5 flaps as opposed to full flaps. Full flaps would have allowed higher nose attitude and not as much damaged to the bottom of the airplane and it would have stayed afloat longer.
    Never addressed landing in the Hudson with both engines in idle power. Air bus computer imput would not allow the engine to come out of idle power.
    Why the cover up?
    ReplyDelete
  7. why did capt land with only 5 flaps?
    ReplyDelete

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