US Airways jetliner with 148 passengers and 5 crew members plunged into the icy Hudson River on Thursday afternoon five minutes after taking off from LaGuardia Airport.
Moments after the plane, the twin jet Airbus A320 bound for Charlotte, N.C., landed on the river near the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel, at least a half-dozen small craft rushed to aircraft to rescue the freezing passengers and crew. The temperature outside was only 20 degrees, with a wind chill of 10 degrees; the Hudson River temperatures are in the mid-30s at this time of year.
All 148 passengers and 5 crew members were reported to have survived.
