US Airways flight hit birds at 3,000 feet, recordings indicate

The disabled Airbus A320 is nearly submerged Friday as it is moored near New York's Battery Park City.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- US Airways flight 1549 was airborne less than 90 seconds when the aircraft apparently collided with a flock of birds, according to a review of Federal Aviation Administration tapes and transcripts.

"This is cactus 1549, hit birds, we lost thrust in both engines," the flight's pilot told controllers at New York's LaGuardia International Airport at approximately 3:27 p.m. Thursday. "We're turning back towards LaGuardia."

The flight, bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, had barely reached 3,000 feet (914 meters) when pilot C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger made the emergency call, National Transportation Safety Board member Kitty Higgins said at a news conference Saturday.

Controllers immediately began preparations to clear a runway for an emergency landing, but less than a minute later, Sullenberger reported the aircraft wouldn't make it, Higgins said.

"We're unable. We may end up in the Hudson," he said, according to Higgins.

When a controller asked if the pilot wanted to try for an airport about six miles away in New Jersey, the pilot responded, "We can't do it."

The last communication from the plane to controllers, Higgins said, was the pilot saying, "We're gonna be in the Hudson." Video Watch a former pilot tell how to water-land a plane »

The detailed narrative emerged Saturday for the first time since Flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River on Thursday.

Passengers, aviation experts and government officials have lauded Sullenberger and his crew for minimizing potential damage to the extent that all 155 passengers and crew members survived without major injuries. First responders were also praised for acting quickly to rescue the passengers in below-freezing temperatures.

Higgins also quoted two of the flight's attendants who were interviewed by NTSB investigators. The two, who were not identified by name, were in jump seats at the front of the aircraft and heard a loud thud shortly after takeoff.

"It was a sound that neither one of them had ever heard before," Higgins said. "They said all the engine noise ceased. They described it as complete silence, like a library. They heard a passenger say, 'I think we hit birds.' "

Efforts to lift the Airbus A320 jetliner from the river began Saturday afternoon after delays due to icy conditions, Higgins said. She said it would be a tedious process that would take several hours. Video Watch water wash over the plane »

"The plane is full of water. In its current condition, it weighs about a million pounds," she said. The plan was to raise the aircraft a foot at a time, let water drain, then raise another foot for more water to drain, and so on, she said.

The aircraft's right engine is still attached to the aircraft, and authorities were using sonar and a remote-operated underwater vehicle to search for the missing engine, Higgins said.

The flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- both critical to determining exactly what happened during the brief flight Thursday -- remained Friday on the aircraft, which was still largely submerged in the Hudson River but was secured to moorings. Video Watch workers begin the retrieval process »

Police already have recovered an aircraft door, 15 pieces of luggage, flotation cushions and other parts of the aircraft.

Strong currents and cold water thwarted divers' efforts to retrieve the recorders from the tail section of the jetliner, Higgins said.

Also Saturday, authorities released audio and transcripts of two 911 calls from people who said they saw that the plane was in trouble. Video Listen to callers report plane in the river »

One caller said he saw the plane descend and reported hearing a loud noise shortly after the aircraft took off.

"I'm witnessing a airplane. It's going down. It's on fire," a man, calling from the Bronx, told a 911 operator at 3:29 p.m., three minutes after the plane left LaGuardia.

Authorities have not indicated the plane was on fire.

"Oh my God! It was a big plane, I heard a big boom just now, we looked up and the plane came straight over us and it was turning. Oh my God!" the man said. Video Watch the plane hit the water »

Minutes later, at 3:33 p.m., a woman called 911 and reported seeing the plane in the water.

"A plane has just crashed into the Hudson River," she told a 911 operator. "A US Air big DC 9 or 10 has crashed into the Hudson River, about ... in. ... Oh my gosh!"

The NTSB and other agencies are investigating not only what went wrong, but also what went right.

"Having a successful ditching is a very rare event," Higgins said Friday.

"We'll not only celebrate what worked here, but also learn what worked. So many times you're only focused on what went wrong," she said. "A lot of things went right."

CNN's Mike Brooks, Jeanne Meserve, Richard Davis and Mike Ahlers contributed to this report.