Jacksonville — On January 15, 2009, US Airways departed from New York’s La Guardia Airport heading to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Captain Chesley Sullenberger, nicknamed Sully, and his co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles were at the helm. Pre-flight and take-off remained in check. Ascending to 3,000 feet - 4.5 miles from the airport - the aircraft hit a flock of Canadian Geese. Both engines shut down almost immediately. The aircraft climbed for another 19 seconds before gliding into a descent. Captain Sully took control of the air-craft - co-pilot Skiles had initiated the take-off - as Skiles attempted to restart the engines. Within 22-seconds of the strike, Captain Sully made the following mayday call.
“This is Cactus 1539, hit birds. We’ve lost thrust on both engines. We’re turning back towards LaGuardia.”
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Returning to La Guardia however, was not possible. The Captain and his co-pilot then requested to land at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport. Plan B dissolved as they quickly realized the aircraft would never make it that far. Sully guided the plane as it flew over the George Washington Bridge at 900 feet before gliding onto New York’s Hudson River along West 50th Street and Weehawken, New Jersey. The time was 3:31 p.m. Flight-time had hovered at five minutes.
Passengers were evacuated onto the wings and exits slides as water entered the fuselage which had been damaged from the landing. A door was also opened at the cabin’s rear.
Several boats located close to the now floating plane, two NY Waterway ferries and the Cost Guard responded immediately to rescue the passengers standing on the wings. Every passenger, Captain Sully, co-pilot Skiles and crew were safe within 24 minutes of landing in the Hudson.
Jacksonville’s Casey Jones sat in seat 7A, a window seat.
Later, safely settled into a hotel wearing borrowed, over-sized clothing, Jones looked at himself in the mirror, now a different man.
“I had fallen in the water so my hair was going every which way,” he said. “I had a cut on the top of my head from the impact and the image I saw looking back at me was one of a homeless person. It wasn’t a negative image. It was a realization that gave me a compassion and caring for the homeless and less fortunate.”
Jones describes the ah-ah moment as elevating his need to do for others. As he searched for ways to give back, once home, he heard a news story on WOKV 104.5 FM, on The Salvation Army requesting monies to purchase Thanksgiving turkeys to those in need.
Jones sent an email to five friends and within 24 hours, he raised enough money to purchase over 140 turkeys. The following year, Jones doubled his friends list as well as the amount. The next, he included 15 friends and added social media and news coverage which tallied enough money to purchase 244 turkeys. Jones and his “organic” Salvation Army’s “Miracle on the Hudson Turkey Drive” was born.
This year, his 12th to date, Jones added a GoFundMe page to skyrocket the amount to almost $10,000 dollars providing 800 local families in need with a Thanksgiving meal turkey. The grassroots organic campaign is now so successful, people contact him.
“The event has taken on a life of its own,” he said. “And I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”