An investigation is underway after a plane crash landed today in the Thames after a suspected drone collision left one person in hospital.
U.S. Airways Flight US132 was en route from London City Airport to Amsterdam Schiphol when it experienced unexpected engine failure and lost radar contact at 2:31pm, leading the pilot to land in the river. Flight US132 had to land almost immediately after takeoff, and emergency river services were quick to respond to the scene. Passengers were left to shelter on the plane wing whilst waiting for rescue services to arrive.
Units from both Kent and Essex were sent to the incident, including the Thames River Police and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution from both Southend and Gravesend.
The aircraft landed approximately 100 meters offshore at the Purfleet RSPB Reserve, a local nature reserve, before life rafts arrived to assist those stranded. Almost an hour after the crash, the first passengers and crew were towed ashore before health checks were carried out by Essex ambulance crews. Local Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre offered passengers aid by providing food and drinks as well as phones to contact loved ones and relatives.
All 42 passengers and 6 crew members were accounted for, with one passenger taken to Queen’s Hospital, Romford with a suspected heart attack. Arrangements have now since been made to get passengers home or back to London City Airport for onward journey.
Passenger Nadine Johnson found light in the situation, quoting “Did not expect to spend my birthday standing on the wing of a plane in the middle of the Thames. The pilot is a total legend for getting us down in one piece.”
Initial reports suspected engine failure to be the fault of bird strikes, but examination of the engines has led to the discovery of drone debris. An investigation is now being carried out by the Air Accident Investigation Branch to recover the aircraft to find out more about the cause of the accident.