The pilot of the US Airways flight who managed to successfully crash land his crippled plane in the Hudson River, saving all 155 people aboard, is being hailed a hero.

The pilot of the doomed Flight 1549 was Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, 57, of Danville, Calif., a former fighter jet pilot who also runs a flight safety firm in addition to flying commercial planes.

New York Gov. David Patterson called the landing "a miracle on the Hudson."

Sullenberger "did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure that everybody got out," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off, and tried to verify that there was nobody else on board, and he assures us there was not."

Sullenberger's co-pilot was Jeff Skiles, 49, of Oregon, Wis., a 23-year US Airways veteran.

An air traffic controllers union official said a pilot on the plane reported a "double bird strike" less than a minute after takeoff and immediately asked for an emergency landing.

It is believed both engines were hit by a bird, possible an entire flock.

National Air Traffic Controllers Union spokesman Doug Church said the bird strikes were reported at 30 to 45 seconds into the flight.

The pilot was instructed to divert to Teterboro, New Jersey, for an emergency landing, shortly before the plane went down.

Bird strikes are actually not uncommon for commercial aviation, and most strikes do not cause damage

The FAA says there were about 65,000 bird strikes to civil aircraft in the U.S. between 1990 to 2005. But actual crashes caused by bird are rare.

Aircraft safety analyst Joseph Yeremian told CTV Newsnet that airplane engines are actually tested by putting chickens through them, but there are no guarantees with all the variables of actual flight.

He said a combination of a flock of birds, the cold temperature and perhaps a fault in the engines could have combined to disable the plane.

Aviation experts praised the pilots' skill, for managing to coax the crippled plane to the Hudson and for putting the plane down into the icy waters intact.

Within hours of the amazing event, blogs lit up praising Sullenberger and a Facebook fan site sprung up.

Passenger's account

US Airways Flight 1549 had taken off at 3:26 p.m. ET from LaGuardia Airport in New York City, en route to Charlotte, N.C.

Passenger Jeff Kolodjay of Norwalk, Conn., told the Associated Press there was an explosion two or three minutes into the flight, and when he looked out the window he saw the left engine on fire.

"The captain said, `Brace for impact because we're going down,'" Kolodjay said. He said passengers put their head in their laps and many started saying prayers.

The plane landed in the Hudson five minutes after the takeoff. Kolodjay said the plane hit the water hard but he was not hurt.

"It was intense. You've got to give it to the pilot. He made a hell of a landing," Kolodjay said.

Initial video of the plane showed it submerged right up to the windows, as it progressively sank deeper in the Hudson River, near 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.

Coast guard vessels and ferry boats arrived quickly, the plane's doors were opened and passengers wearing yellow life vests, scrambled to safety.

Paramedics treated at least 78 passengers and Bloomberg said New York police divers rescued several people who were underwater

Eyewitnesses in Manhattan said they saw at least one of the plane's two engines on fire as it went down in a controlled landing into the Hudson.

The plane has been tethered to a dock after being pulled in by tug boats. Television images show the nose and tail of the plane sticking out of the water, as it has rolled to about a 45 degree angle on its side.

New York City firefighters, New York Police Department divers and the Coast Guard responded to the crash.

Video footage of the incident shows passengers in yellow life vests, one waving to cameras and giving a thumbs-up sign, calmly walking onto a rescue vessel.

Commuter boats in the area were also seen taking on passengers who were standing on both of the plane's wings.

The water temperature in the river was reported to be 5 degrees Celsius.