Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III, who famously landed a passenger aircraft on the Hudson River in 2009, commented on the lethal plane collision that occurred over the Potomac River on Wednesday night time.
“We’ve needed to study essential classes actually with blood too typically, and we had lastly gotten past that, to the place we might study from incidents, and never accidents,” Captain Sullenberger instructed The New York Occasions.
Sullenberger defined to the outlet that “every little thing is tougher” when flying at night time. He famous that whereas the pilots’ capability to see could have been impacted by the darkness, “we don’t know” whether or not that was the case.
“I’m simply devastated by this,” Sullenberger mentioned. “We’ve the duty to study from each failure and enhance.” Â
Search and rescue efforts are seen round a wreckage website within the Potomac River from Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport, early Thursday morning on Jan. 30, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Picture)
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At roughly 9:00 PM native time on Wednesday night time, an Military Black Hawk collided with an American Airways aircraft close to Reagan Nationwide Airport exterior of Washington, D.C. All 67 individuals onboard each plane are presumed lifeless.
John Donnelly, Chief of the District of Columbia Hearth Division, mentioned on Thursday morning that authorities didn’t consider there have been any survivors, and the mission was shifting “from a rescue operation to a restoration operation.”
A part of the wreckage is seen as rescue boats search the waters of the Potomac River after a aircraft on method to Reagan Nationwide Airport crashed into the river close to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30, 2025. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP through Getty Pictures)
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President Donald Trump referred to as the lethal crash a “darkish and excruciating night time in our nation’s capital and in our nation’s historical past, and a tragedy of horrible proportions.”
“Collectively, we take solace within the data that their journey ended not within the chilly waters of the Potomac, however within the heat embrace of a loving God,” Trump mentioned.
In a video assertion, Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the division is aware of “on our facet who was concerned. It was a reasonably skilled crew, and that was doing a required annual night time analysis. They did have night time imaginative and prescient goggles.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was sworn-in hours earlier than the collision, mentioned “every little thing was commonplace” earlier than the crash. He additionally vowed to get solutions for the victims’ households and the American individuals.
All 155 individuals aboard US Airways Flight 1549 stood on the wings of the aircraft the place Captain “Sully” safely landed within the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009. (American Veterans Heart)
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In January 2009, Sullenberger landed an Airbus A320 safely within the Hudson River after hanging a flock of birds that disabled each engines shortly after takeoff; all 155 individuals aboard survived. His heroic actions, later dubbed the “miracle on the Hudson,” have been depicted within the 2016 movie “Sully” starring Tom Hanks.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
