US airways plane crashes into Hudson River

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-16-2009 09:58

A US Airways plane has crashed into the Hudson River in New York City, after being struck by birds that disabled two engines.

The US Federal Aviation Administration says Flight 1549 had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport enroute to Charlotte, North Carolina, when the crash occurred in the river near 48th Street in New York City.

Passengers stand on the wings of a US Airways plane as a ferry pulls up to it after it landed in the Hudson  River in New York, January 15, 2009.[Agencies]

The plane, an Airbus 320, appears to have hit one or more birds, before crashing into the icy river.

Rescue workers were able to open a door and pull passengers out of the sinking plane. There's no immediate word on the number of casualties. But the crash did not seem related to terrorism.