Video of US Airways descent into Hudson River released

New York--The Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board released Coast Guard footage today of the U.S. Airways passenger plane as it conducted an emergency landing into the Hudson River Jan. 15, 2009.

The Coast Guard is conducting a safety zone around the plane, which is now located at Battery Park City, N.Y., while a commercial salvage team is working to remove the plane from the water.

The Coast Guard, New York Police and Fire Departments, New York Waterways and Circle Line ferry rescue teams launched a multi-asset response yesterday when the plane ditched onto the Hudson River, at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Upon initial notification, Coast Guard Sector New York launched a fleet of small rescue boats and the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Ridley was diverted to the scene. The Coast Guard Cutter Katherine Walker also arrived on scene to assist in the search and rescue efforts and enforcement of the safety zones.
Three Coast Guard helicopters from Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., and one from Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., worked closely with New York City Police air assets to provide aerial support.

The video was captured by Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service. The purpose of a VTS is to provide active monitoring and navigational advice for vessels in particularly confined and busy waterways. There are two main types of VTS, surveillance and non-surveillance. Surveillance systems consist of one or more land-based sensors (including radar, Automated Identification Systems and closed circuit television sites), which output their signals to a central location where operators monitor and manage vessel traffic movement. Non-surveillance systems consist of one or more reporting points at which ships are required to report their identity, course, speed, and other data to the monitoring authority.

The Coast Guard operates 12 Vessel Traffic Centers (VTC): Prince William Sound, Puget Sound, Valdez, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles/Long Beach, Houston-Galveston, Berwick Bay, Louisville, Saint Mary's River, Port Arthur, Tampa, and New York.