Hello and thank you for downloading the witness history podcast from the BBC World Service

with me, Rachel Naylor. Today I'm taking you back to when a plane's engines failed, forcing

it to land on the Hudson River in New York. I've been speaking to the passenger who was

last on board. It's the 15th of January 2009, an American salesman, Dave Sanderson, is

on business in New York. It's been a great trip, but he can't wait to get home to Charlotte

in North Carolina. I got to the airport early and the flight was scheduled

about 245 that afternoon. The flights were delayed, it was snowing in New York that day,

but that's nothing unusual. I was one of the first passengers to board the plane because

of my status. I flew on average 100 times a year. When I went back to my seat at 15A,

I did everything I'd usually did. I put my ball in the briefcase, got the magazine out

and started to read, didn't pay attention, didn't know where the exits were, and didn't

read the little brochure they always tell you to read.

The US Airways flight, 1549, was cleared for takeoff from La Guardia Airport at 324pm.

By 60 seconds after we took off, it's when I heard the explosion. At that point in time,

I just thought the plane lost an engine, and I'd been on planes before they've lost

an engine, so it's really no big deal. I said, OK, we're going back to the airport

to get another plane. But Dave was wrong. A flock of Canada geese had struck both sides

of the plane at the same time. Both engines were now failing. The pilot, Captain Chelsea

Sully Sullenberger, radioed a Mayday call back to New York.

Air traffic control told La Guardia's tower to hold all the parches, and initially advised

Captain Sully to land his plane on runway 13.

Air traffic control then offered a different runway, as well as contacting nearby Tieta

...