US Airways Flight 1549 - Injuries

Injuries

There were five serious injuries, one of which was a deep laceration in flight attendant Doreen Welsh's leg. In total, 78 people were treated, mostly for minor injuries and hypothermia.

Hospitals that treated patients included Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Center in Greenwich Village; St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, which admitted ten people; New York Downtown Hospital, which treated three passengers; and Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, New Jersey, which treated five patients for hypothermia. In all, 24 passengers and two rescue personnel were treated at hospitals, while others were cared for in triage facilities. According to the airline, no pets were being transported in the cargo hold, with a spokesperson stating, "We don't carry pets in our cargo."

Delayed psychological effects were experienced as a result of the accident and rescue. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress including sleeplessness, flashbacks, and panic attacks were reported by members of the aircrew, passengers, and others directly involved. A number of the survivors received professional counseling, and some began an email support group to help ease the aftereffects of the experience. In addition to those on the plane, FAA Air Traffic Control Specialist Patrick Harten, the New York TRACON controller who worked the flight during the emergency, later stated in testimony before Congress that for him "the hardest, most traumatic part of the entire event was when it was over" during which he was continually "gripped by raw moments of shock and grief."