Those involved in U.S. Airways flight 1549's unusual landing into New York's Hudson River Jan. 15, 2009 recognized the feat's fifth anniversary Wednesday CBS 2 New York reported Wednesday.
The aircraft had to make an emergency landing into the Hudson River because a group of geese shut down the airplane's engines CBS 2 New york reported.
"We were suddenly confronted with something we hadn't anticipated, had never specifically trained for," Capt. Chesley Sullenberger told CBS 2.
"I chose the least bad option but I was happy to have it," Sullenberger told CBS 2. "In this area, since we couldn't glide as far as a runway, it was the only other place to go that could be made a runway," Sullenberger told CBS 2.
"The pilot said you guys have to brace for a hard impact," Jeff Kolodjay, a passenger on the flight told CBS 2. "That's when everyone, to be honest, started saying prayers," Kolodjay told CBS 2.
"Obviously, any type of circumstances could lead to a different result," Jeff Skiles, First Officer of the flight told CBS 2. "The one thing I can tell you is I am very happy to have been flying with Captain Sullenberger on that day and I could not have had a better colleague on that day or since," Skiles told CBS 2.
"It was one of those events, in the first couple of seconds, I knew it was going to be unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was going to define my life into before and after," Skiles told CBS 2. "I knew it was going to be a challenge of a lifetime that was mine to solve, but it also provided opportunities, like this one, to have a greater voice about things," Skiles told CBS 2.
The flight was en route to Charlotte when Sullenberger had to land the aircraft containing 155 passengers on the Hudson River in a move that has been deemed "Miracle on the Hudson," the Associated Press and High Point Enterprise reported
The aircraft is on display in the Carolina's Aviation Museum in Charlotte CBS 2 reported.
