UPDATE ON NTSB PUBLIC HEARING ON THE US AIRWAYS A-320 HUDSON RIVER DITCHING ACCIDENT

[NTSB Press Releases <NTSBPressReleases@xxxxxxxx>]

Title: UPDATE ON NTSB PUBLIC HEARING ON THE US AIRWAYS A-320 HUDSON RIVER DITCHING ACCIDENT

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                       NTSB ADVISORY
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National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594

June 4, 2009

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UPDATE ON NTSB PUBLIC HEARING ON THE US AIRWAYS A-320 HUDSON
RIVER DITCHING ACCIDENT

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The National Transportation Safety Board today released
additional information about the Board's scheduled public
hearing on the January 2009 ditching of the US Airways A-320
into the Hudson River.
 
The hearing, originally scheduled for two days, has been
expanded to three. It will convene at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday,
June 9, 2009, and is expected to conclude mid-day on
Thursday, June 11. It will be held at the NTSB's Board Room
and Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington,
D.C. The room is lighted for television and a mult box is
provided for sound. 

On January 15, 2009, at approximately 3:27 p.m. EST, US
Airways flight 1549, an Airbus Industrie A320 bound for
Charlotte, North Carolina, incurred multiple bird strikes
during its initial departure climb from New York's La
Guardia Airport (LGA). The airplane subsequently lost thrust
to its engines and ditched in the Hudson River approximately
three and a half minutes after striking the birds and about
five minutes after leaving LGA. To date, of the five
crewmembers and 150 passengers on board, five serious
injuries have been reported.

The Safety Board will also open the public docket at the
start of the hearing.  The public may view and download the
docket contents on the web under the "FOIA Reading Room" at
http://www.ntsb.gov/Info/foia_fri-dockets.htm at that time.

The information being released is factual in nature and does
not provide analysis or the probable cause of the accident.
The docket will include investigative group factual reports,
interview transcripts, Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR)
transcripts, Flight Data Recorder (FDR) data and other
documents from the investigation. In addition, docket items
that will be used as exhibits during the public hearing will
be available on the website under "Public Hearings"

The hearing, which is part of the Safety Board's efforts to
develop all appropriate facts for the investigation, will
cover a wide range of safety issues including:

* Pilot training regarding ditching and forced landings on
water.
* Bird detection and mitigation efforts.
* Certification standards regarding ditching and forced
landings on water for transport-category airplanes.
* Cabin safety training, emergency procedures and equipment.
* Certification standards for bird ingestion into transport-
category airplane engines.

An agenda is posted on the Board's website at 
http://www.ntsb.gov/events/2009/agenda.htm. A live webcast
of the proceedings will be available on the Board's website
at http://www.ntsb.gov/events/hearing_sched.htm. Technical
support details are available under "Board Meetings." To
report any problems, please call 703-993-3100 and ask for
Webcast Technical Support.

Directions to the NTSB Board Room: Front door located on
Lower 10th Street, directly below L'Enfant Plaza. From
Metro, exit L'Enfant Plaza station at 9th and D Streets
escalator, walk through shopping mall, at the CVS store (on
the left), and take escalator (on the right) down one level.
The Board room will be to your left.

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Media Contact: Peter Knudson
(202) 314-6100
peter.knudson@xxxxxxxx

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