A U.S. Airways
plane leaving New York's LaGuardia airport for Charlotte,
N.C., has crashed into the Hudson River. U.S. Airways flight
1549 experienced a failed takeoff at 3:11 p.m. from
LaGuardia, located in northern Queens, just east of
Manhattan. MSNBC reports that the malfunction had to
do with the plane hitting a flock of geese. The
A320 jetliner is floating near The USS Intrepid,
docked near 57th Street, according to local television
news station New York 1.
The plane was
delayed nearly a half hour until it finally took off. It
has 169 passengers and five crew members.
Some passengers
are being rescued as the fuselage is now sinking
into freezing water. Temperatures in New York are currently
about 20 degrees as of 4 p.m. EST. The Coast Guard
told CNN that units are responding, and a ferry was on
site dropping life jackets into the water and rescuing
passengers.