Hudson Rescuers Reflect With Wonder

Rescuers recall amazing scenes from mission to save US Airways passengers

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 17, 2009 5:30 AM CST

(Newser) – Rescuers who scrambled to save passengers from US Airways Flight 1549 look back in the day's events with disbelief, they tell CNN. Ferry captain Brittany Catanzaro, used to shuttling commuters back and forth, suddenly found herself piloting a challenging rescue mission. "I didn't have time to get nervous," she said. "I got the crew to do a man-overboard, and jumped immediately to action."

"It was like a movie set," said one firefighter who rushed to the scene believing a small plane had gone down and was amazed to see a jetliner in the water. He helped transport distressed passengers plucked from the icy river. "I said 'Welcome to New York,' and a couple of them cracked a smile," he said. "They were just glad to be warm and dry."

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[Videos (2)]

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Ferry boat captain Brittany Catanzaro reacts during a ceremony to honor her and other ferry boat crews at the NY Waterway ferry terminal in Weehawken, N.J., Friday, Jan. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike Derer)

A US Airways jet that crash landed in the Hudson River is surrounded by rescue boats in the Hudson with the New York skyline in the background as seen from Hoboken, N.J., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike Derer)

Passengers in an inflatable raft, center, move away from an Airbus 320 US Airways aircraft that has gone down in the Hudson River as a ferry boat floats nearby in New York, Thursday Jan. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Ferry boats surround a US Airways aircraft that has gone down in the Hudson River in New York, Thursday Jan. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

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Video of rescuers evacuating passengers from US Airways flight 1549. (Eisqup)

Interview with a passenger brought ashore from the crash of US Airways flight 1549. (USLAWdotcom)

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We heard it was a confirmed plane down. Initially, you think of a small Cessna-type plane, but when we got up on the scene, I saw the tail fin of a US Airways jet out of the water. It's unbelievable. - New York firefighter Tom Sullivan

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Hudson Rescuers Reflect With Wonder