15 years after the Miracle on the Hudson, some suffer from PTSD while others learn to fly

All the moments Wally Collins hadn't yet experienced came to her when he texted her husband to let her know her flight was landing. 

The youngest son's first home run. Plan your children's birthday parties. Radiant as mother of the bride.

“I'm not the best mom, but I'm her mom,” the mother of three said. “And to think that I wasn't going to end up raising them was very difficult.”

Collins was in seat 26D of US Airways Flight 1549, which crashed into New York's Hudson River 15 years ago this month, a miraculous landing that saved all 155 people on board and many more. She gave life a new chance. Aviation experts consider this maneuver to be the most successful landing by an aircraft, earning Captain CB "Sully" Sullenberger hero status and later fame in the movie "Sully."

That day, sitting in the front row of the plane, Rick Elias realized everything he would not miss: money, another victory, another trip. He also contemplated not being there to raise his family.

Near set 1C, Barry Leonard thought about his family, from his wife and children to his mother. He didn't shout, “I didn't do anything,” he said.

During these moments of descent, the silence of the two engines reigned in part of the ship. The thought of dying has taken over the minds of many people, fearing the worst possible outcome.

It's the captain. Wait for the impact'

Taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport, Sullenberger said he remembers being surprised when a flock of Canada geese measuring up to six feet in wingspan collided with the plane. Then both engines lost power.

The experienced pilot made a quick announcement in the cockpit and alerted them of an emergency landing.

He is the captain. Glory to the effect,” Sullenberger said, recalling that he said it in the booth.

"I could hear the flight attendants at the front gathering and shouting their orders to the passengers. 'Get ready, get ready, get ready. Head down. Stay down. Over and over.'

As panic filled the cockpit, Sullenberger reviewed his landing options with air traffic control. He realized he would not return to LaGuardia, he said in the air traffic control recording, and then turned away from Teterboro and Newark airports in neighboring New Jersey.

They announced to air traffic control that they were going to land in the Hudson River.

It was 208 seconds after the plane hit the bird before Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles landed the plane in the Hudson River.

"It was a huge shock," said passenger Leonard. “I guess my knee hit my sternum because my sternum broke.”

The plane rolled over during a hard, violent landing, Collins recalled.

"When we apparently stopped, I looked up and thought, 'I'm in one piece. This plane is in one piece.'"

But the relief of landing was short-lived. The flight attendant ordered passengers off the plane when another challenge arose.

“The water came rushing in,” Collins said. "That was my scariest moment. I thought, 'God, please don't let me drown.'" It was very cold.

That afternoon the temperature was 20 degrees. Leonard unbuckled his seat belt, took off his shoes, and jumped into the frozen river.

“I looked back and saw people walking on the water,” he said. "In fact, I thought I was dead. And it wasn't until I started swimming that I realized there were people on the wing and that I wasn't dead. The captain walked twice down each row of the ship, the passengers." . He was in such a state of stress that I couldn't trust my eyes and my ears," Sullenberger told CNN. The plane was still taking on water; a flight attendant shouted that they had to get off the plane.

Miraculously, all 155 people on board survived. 

Some passengers accepted the change, others felt lost.

There is a contrast between before and after the landing on the Hudson, the moment that forever changed the lives of those who were on board the flight.

After the terrifying landing, Clay Presley, who was occupying seat 15D, said it became extremely clear. 15 years after the Miracle on the Hudson, some suffer from PTSD while others learn to fly

All the moments Wally Collins hadn't yet experienced came to her when she texted her husband to let him know her flight was landing.

The youngest son's first home run. Plan your children's birthday parties. Radiant as mother of the bride.

“I'm not the best mom, but I'm her mom,” the mother of three said. “And to think that I wasn't going to end up raising them was very difficult.”

Collins was in seat 26D on US Airways Flight 1549, which crashedor in New York's Hudson River 15 years ago this month, a miraculous landing that saved all 155 people on board and many more. He gave life a new chance. Aviation experts consider this maneuver to be the most successful landing by an aircraft, earning Captain CB "Sully" Sullenberger hero status and later fame in the movie "Sully."

That day, sitting in the front row of the plane, Rick Elias realized everything he would not miss: money, another victory, another trip. He also contemplated not being there to raise his family.

Near set 1C, Barry Leonard thought about his family, from his wife and children to his mother. He didn't shout, “I didn't do anything,” he said.

During these moments of descent, the silence of the two engines reigned in part of the ship. The thought of dying has taken over the minds of many people, fearing the worst possible outcome.

He is the captain. Wait for the impact'

Taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport, Sullenberger said he remembers being surprised when a flock of Canada geese measuring up to six feet in wingspan collided with the plane. Then both engines lost power.

The experienced pilot made a quick announcement in the cockpit and alerted them of an emergency landing.

He is the captain. Glory to the effect,” Sullenberger said, recalling that he said it in the booth. 

"I could hear the flight attendants at the front gathering and shouting their orders to the passengers. 'Get ready, get ready, get ready. Head down. Stay down. Over and over.'

As panic filled the cockpit, Sullenberger reviewed his landing options with air traffic control. He realized he would not return to LaGuardia, he said in the air traffic control recording, and then turned away from Teterboro and Newark airports in neighboring New Jersey.

They announced to air traffic control that they were going to land in the Hudson River.

It was 208 seconds after the plane hit the bird before Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles landed the plane in the Hudson River.

"It was a huge shock," said passenger Leonard. “I guess my knee hit my sternum because my sternum broke.”

The plane rolled over during a hard, violent landing, Collins recalled.

"When we apparently stopped, I looked up and thought, 'I'm in one piece. This plane is in one piece.'"

But the relief of landing was short-lived. The flight attendant ordered passengers off the plane when another challenge arose.

“The water came rushing in,” Collins said. "That was my scariest moment. I thought, 'God, please don't let me drown.'" It was very cold.

That afternoon the temperature was 20 degrees. Leonard unbuckled his seat belt, took off his shoes, and jumped into the frozen river.

“I looked back and saw people walking on the water,” he said. "In fact, I thought I was dead. And it wasn't until I started swimming that I realized there were people on the wing and that I wasn't dead. The captain walked twice down each row of the ship, the passengers." . He was in such a state of stress that I couldn't trust my eyes and my ears," Sullenberger told CNN. The plane was still taking on water; a flight attendant shouted that they had to get off the plane.

Miraculously, all 155 people on board survived.

Some passengers accepted the change, others felt lost.

There is a contrast between before and after the landing on the Hudson, the moment that forever changed the lives of those who were on board the flight.

After the terrifying landing, Clay Presley, who was occupying seat 15D, said it became extremely clear.