Plane lost both engines at same time

A jetliner that landed in the Hudson River lost power simultaneously in both engines after reaching an altitude of 3,200 feet, the plane’s “black box” recorders revealed Sunday.

The details that emerged confirmed the harrowing circumstances under which the pilot of the US Airways flight carrying 155 people maneuvered the plane over New York City and safely into the water after striking a flock of birds Thursday afternoon.

“The captain makes a radio call to [air traffic control] calling mayday and reports that they hit birds, lost both engines and were returning to LaGuardia” airport, said Kitty Higgins of the National Transportation Safety Board, releasing cockpit transmissions captured on flight data and voice recorders.

The wreckage of the Airbus A320 was being moved by barge Sunday night to New Jersey, where investigators planned to inspect the damage more closely. Under a heavy snowfall, tugboats began pulling the barge, which had been moored to a seawall a few blocks from the site of the former World Trade Center.

Investigators already have seen significant damage to the tail and to compartments at the bottom of the plane that opened on impact, Higgins said.

The search for the plane’s missing left engine was suspended until Tuesday because ice floes in the river made it too dangerous to put divers or special sonar equipment in the water, Higgins said.

She praised the flight crew, led by US Airways Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, who spoke to investigators Saturday.

“Miracles happen because a lot of everyday things happen for years and years and years,” she said. “These people knew what they were supposed to do and they did it and, as a result, nobody lost their life.”

Sullenberger had been scheduled to give his first public interview this morning to NBC “Today” show host Matt Lauer, but the appearance was canceled Sunday at the request of the U.S. Air Line Pilots Assn.

Stephen Bradford, president of the association, said he asked Sullenberger not to engage in media activities because the group had “interested party” status with the NTSB, which allows it to participate in the investigation.

Sullenberger released a statement deferring to the advice. “The Sullenbergers continue to thank their many well-wishers for the incredible outpouring of support,” the statement said.

The mayor of his hometown, Danville, Calif., said the pilot and his family were attending President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration.

Mayor Newell Arnerich said Lorraine Sullenberger told city officials the family was to leave for the East Coast on Sunday.

The area where the barge was moored was closed to the public Sunday, but it still attracted hundreds of residents and tourists who snapped pictures of the plane wreckage.

Kelsey Higginbotham, a 20-year-old student at East Tennessee State University, peered at the crippled aircraft from behind police barricades.

She and a friend had been to Times Square, Central Park and ground zero of the Sept. 11 attacks.

She said she was struck by the contrast between one disaster in which so many people died and another in which everyone survived.

“It’s a miracle,” she said. “I guess New Yorkers can’t take any more tragedy.”