A US Airways A320 with 164 passengers and five crew went down in the Hudson River, near midtown Manhattan shortly before 3:45 pm, after departing New York’s LaGuardia airport. The pilot is said to have reported multiple bird strikes after flying through a flock of Canadian geese. All aboard evacuated the aircraft successfully after the pilot executed an emergency water landing in the river in what is the first controlled ditching of a US commercial aircraft in more than 50 years. The Wall Street Journal said the pilots reported that both engines were damaged and asked for clearance to return to LGA. The aircraft was unable to make it back, however, and landed in the river. Television images taken shortly after the accident showed that the aircraft appeared intact and just partially submerged, although it subsequently sank, while photos indicated that slides/rafts were deployed and that passengers and crew disembarked and were rescued by boats. Many were photographed standing on the wings. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to New York to investigate.