NOAA and Partners Aid in “Miracle on the Hudson”
Jennie Lyons
NOAA IOOS Communications Specialist
February 20, 2009 — On January 15, the national Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) supplied ocean observation data that aided in the safe rescue of all passengers and crew aboard U.S. Airways Flight 1549, which made an emergency water landing on the Hudson River. NOAA and its partners were at the ready, supporting passenger rescue, assessing risk of contamination to the environment, and helping to survey the cold and icy river for the wreckage of the plane.
NOAA joins NYPD and other agencies in the rescue and recovery effort following the recent crash of U.S. Airways Flight 1549. Photo credit: NOAA.
The flight landed near sensors within New York Harbor’s Observing Prediction System, part of the Mid-Atlantic region of the national IOOS network. Within minutes, IOOS partners at the Stevens Institute of Technology on the Hudson’s New Jersey shore prepared a detailed report of real-time water conditions surrounding the site and a forecast of conditions for the next 48 hours. The Stevens Institute sent this information – including water temperature, speed, surface conditions, and tide flow – to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Director of Watch Command for the New York City Office of Emergency Management, and the New York Fire Department.
A side scan sonar image of the bottom of the Hudson River taken during efforts to locate the missing engines. Side scan sonar is most useful in locating sea-floor features and possible obstructions, but does not provide depth information. Photo credit: NOAA.
In the hours following the accident, the NOAA Office of Coast Survey’s Navigation Response Team 5 (NRT-5) – made up of LTJG Matt Jaskoski, Bert Ho, and John Doroba – were on the scene supporting survey efforts to locate debris from the accident via side scan sonar. The team was able to work onboard a New York City police boat and also used the OCS’ portable ‘fly away’ side scan sonar on board an Army Corps of Engineers vessel. In the next several days, the FBI found a missing engine, and the NRT team located other objects of interest related to the plane. Other NOAA offices also were on the scene, providing near-real time weather conditions and current information on the Lower Hudson, analyzing the fate and persistence of the fuel onboard, and other on-call assistance.
“With this crash, we learned that miracles occur when ordinary citizens are present and act with skill, courage, training, experience, and teamwork,” said Alan Blumberg, director of the Center for Maritime Systems at Stevens. “A bit of luck helps too. Agencies that had the foresight to fund our observation and forecast modeling work made it possible for us to be ‘present in the moment’ – being aware of what is going on right here and now.”
In the days following the crash, IOOS partners also provided around the clock on-call assistance to several emergency agencies in order to assist with salvage operations. The National Transportation Safety Board and salvage teams used this information to lift the plane out of the water.
“This shows the power of the regional partnership we have forged and the ability of the team to respond immediately,” said Zdenka Willis, director of the NOAA IOOS program. “This really illustrates a heroic effort by all to help ensure there was no loss of life.”
IOOS is a national effort working to deliver the data and information needed to increase understanding of our coastal waters so decision makers can improve safety, enhance our economy, and protect our environment.
NOAA, the Office of Naval Research, and the New Jersey Department of Transportation funded the data collection and work for the IOOS efforts.