UPDATE [lawhawk]:
It appears that the plane had multiple bird strikes upon takeoff, causing the engines to flame out. WCBS 880 has details.
Officials tell CBS 2 the airplane is Flight 1549, an Airbus 380 that took off from LaGuardia Airport. There are reports that there were about 60 people on board.The plane appears to have crashed relatively intact near the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum, which puts Circle Lines ships in a good position to provide assistance, in addition to emergency crews on the way.
Passengers could be seen standing on the wing of the plane and entering a rescue boat.
There are reports that a bird strike may have caused the plane to go down, meaning a bird may have entered the engine, causing a malfunction.
City officials have called a massive casualty emergency, though it's not yet known if there are any deaths.
UPDATE:
NY Waterways was also quick to render assistance as seen from photos. CNN has streaming video.
UPDATE: 1010 wins is reporting that the pilot is claiming that geese are the cause of the accident. Eye witnesses are reporting blue flames from the planes engine. As Hawk posted, NY Waterways is always quick to render assistance and was on scene during 9/11 to evacuate victims.
Update: MSNBC is reporting:
NEW YORK - A US Airways passenger jet taking off from LaGuardia airport in New York en route to Charlotte, N.C., crashed into frigid Hudson River on Thursday.1010 Wins is also reporting some leg injuries but they believe that everyone has left the plane and that according to one survivor, it truly was women and children first.
New York City firefighters are responding to the crash. It was not immediately clear if there were injuries.
WNBC's Tim Minton quoted an unidentified government source as saying that a flock of birds may have hit the plane, disabling both engines.
The plane is an Airbus A320. NBC News identified it as Flight 1549, which departed at 3:20 p.m. ET with about 145 passengers and five crew members aboard. It was a scheduled flight to the Charlotte-Douglas, N.C., airport.
Witness Barbara Sambriski, a researcher at The Associated Press, said, "I just thought, 'Why is it so low?' And, splash, it hit the water."
N.Y. Waterway ferries responded to the crash and were assisting in the rescue.
UPDATE:
148 passengers, with 5 or 6 crewmembers. The plane has been slowly sinking, and a FDNY fireboat is on the scene attempting to keep some semblance of control.
There's a simple reason why NY Waterways and other ferries were quick to render assistance - their routes transverse that area on a regular basis.
UPDATE: It is reported that at least 41 employees of Bank of America were on the plane and the Intrepid Museum has graciously offered to serve as a base for Bank of America employees to call their families and to tell them they are ok and to stay there until arrangements can be made for their return.
UPDATE: FAA is reporting that all passengers and crew have been accounted for and are alive. Only relatively minor injuries have been reported. Hypothermia remains one of the gravest concerns.
UPDATE: It is being reported by the National Air Traffic Controller's Union that the pilot lost both engines, radioed for vectors to return to LaGuardia, passed over the George Washington Bridge -- clearing the bridge by a mere 900 feet, YIKES! -- and then requested permission to divert to Teterboro. The pilot was given clearance to land at runway 1 at Teterboro but that there were no further communications from the pilot.
It is amazing that the pilot was able to land in the river, and that he missed the city, the bridge, Weehawken, the Intrepid and everything else. If that plane would have hit a building or the west side highway or the bridge, we would be reporting on 150+ deaths.
Mayor Bloomberg is about to address the press. Possibly the pilot will give a statement. Bloomberg states that the pilot walked the aisles twice to determine that no one was left on board.
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