[cheers and applause] s and applause] we can't do it. tonlt tonight, return to the river run way, the hero pilot and the remarkable reunion with the passengers he saved. >> i was on pins and needles for four terrifying hours until that evening. >> a salute to captain sully and the miracle on the hudson, dodging disaster a decade ago. plus, an eye on the skies today. when something goes wrong in the air, those terrifying moments when every second counts. >> they said there's a hole and somebody went out. >> the pressure players, keeping their cool, on a wing and a

prayer. this special edition of "nightline," moment of impact, will be right back. be right back.

(music throughout) this special edition of "nightline," moment of impact, continues. here now, byron pitts. >> good evening. thank you for joining us. we begin with the miracle on the hudson, the terrifying moments that captivated the nation. the hero pilot and his

passengers escaping death against all odds just a decade ago. tonight they're reuniting, reminding us that every second and every day counts. here's abc's amy robach. >> they're waiting to see you. >> good to see you. >> how are you doing? >> i swear, you guys haven't changed at all. >> reporter: it was a reunion few thought possible. >> it was so good to see you. >> how are you? >> wonderful. i'm alive. >> reporter: there their plane an emergency landing in the hudson. passengers gathered beneath its wreckage yesterday. >> it's dpoogood to be with our friend. >> reporter: to greet the man credited with saving their lives, captain sully sullenberger. their seat numbers now a badge of honor.

>> 20 c. >> 1 c. >> reporter: what's it like being in the shadow of this plane? >> thankful. >> gratitude. >> grateful every days. >> appreciation for all these extra days we didn't think we would get. >> just before the impact, it was so, just awful, because you thought i'm counting down the very last seconds of my life. >> reporter: it all began ten years ago to the day, january 15, 2009. so honored to be here, right where it all took place. >> right here. it's a very vivid reminder to be here and to know that this is the place where it all had to happen. >> reporter: at 3:25 p.m., u.s. airways flight 1549 took off from laguardia to charlotte. the lives of all 155 people on board would all be changed. >> hit birds lost thrust in both engines.

we're returning to laguardia. >> it started smelling a lot like gasoline. a couple minutes after that, the pilot said you guys have to brace for a hard impact. that's when everyone started saying prayers. >> it was intense, sudden, 100 seconds after takeoff we were suddenly confronted with this challenge of a lifetime. >> reporter: air traffic controllers jumping into action to find a quick landing site. >> kcactus 1529. >> reporter: too far to return to laguardia, controllers suggesting an emergency landing at near by teetserboro airport. >> we had only a few moments to decide where on the earth's surface we should land. ly i had to make sure that happened in the best possible place, and it happened to be

here. the only place smooth enough, wide enough to attempt to land a large airliner. >> reporter: this was your landing strip. >> we made a runway out of a river. >> reporter: inside the plane, eric stevenson prepares for the worst. >> i pulled out a business card, and i wrote on the back of the business card, to my mom and to my sister, i love you. and i shoved it into my pocket, because i thought, if the aircraft exploded or at least it would be near my body and they knew i was thinking of them when we were going down. >> reporter: down the aisle, jim whittaker offers to protect the youngest passenger. >> i asked this very brave, courageous woman if i would hold her baby. because that was obviously the smallest passenger on board. and if anybody was going to survive, hopefully it was going to be this one. >> reporter: seconds later, the unthinkable. >> there is an airplane down in manhattan.

>> the plane just bounced over the water. >> reporter: the aircraft splashing to a halted, narrowly missing the skyscrapers of midtown manhattan. but the nightmare was far from over. >> i cracked my sternum on impact. when i hit that water that was 36 degrees, i honestly thought maybe i wouldn't make it then. >> when the plane hit the water and the water rushed in the back of the plane, it was frigid cold, and that's how i knew i was still alive. >> the water was up to here, and it was 35 degree water, it was like needles. i survived the impact and now i'm going to drown. that was my worry. >> reporter: robin roberts witnessing the landing from her apartment. >> it was an amazing land beii n the fuselage never broke up. >> he understood how to land that aircraft without power.

that was a bit of piloting expertise. >> reporter: the terrifying flight turning into a miraculous rescue. >> i was like oh, my god, i hope they can get all of them. >> when you see an aircraft go down like that, you're worried nobody's going to get out. >> there you're getting the first view of it. we can see the tail of the u.s. airplane sticking up around the water. there are a number of ferries around it. >> the first ferry arrived 3:55 after we touched the water. >> reporter: remarkably, all 155 souls on board surviving, including that baby tucked into jim whitaker's arms. >> a nine month old baby can be held just like a football. and it was truly an amazing experience that that child didn't even cry until we came to a complete stop. >> reporter: ever the heroic pie

lot, sully is the last one to leave the plane. >> i was on pins and needles for four terrifying hours until tha official. >> reporter: everyone was accounted for. >> everyone was safe, and only then could i feel the weight being lifted off my heart. >> reporter: that weight of the universi universe is now known as the miracle on the hudson. was it a miracle? >> no, it was a lot of work. over many decades. so it was everyone pulling together to not let anyone die. >> reporter: the harrowing tale of survival raipe for a movie. >> we are turning back towards the laguardia. >> reporter: what do you think of tom hanks playing your hero? >> sully's better looking, first of all. >> i'm a little taller.

>> reporter: in the film, sully is grilled by investigators for potential wrongdoing. >> our job is to investigate how a plane ended up in the hudson river. >> reporter: but in reality, the ntsb investigation heaped praise on sully and jeff skiles. >> it looked like they why seco were second guessing him. >> reporter: a decade after the so-called miracle on the hudson, lessons have been learned. >> airplanes built today are built to a higher standard to be able to withstand the impact of birds on the blades our the fuselage itself. but it's always going to be a problem of birds hitting aircraft. >> automation can save lives, can make this industry safer, but when something bad happens, if the ought make fails, nothing like having an amazing pilot in the cockpit who can bring it

down safely. >> with the passage of time i have even greater appreciation for how much went right. i think everyone involved, this group of strangers were able to rise to the occasion, to face this unanticipated challenge, make it their mission in life to make sure everyone was safe. >> reporter: surviving against the odds, the passengers of flight 14544th all have the same message. >> thank you. >> thank you for eternity. >> all of us are grateful. you simply served and did what was asked of you. >> i think we all did our job. our crew, jeff skiles, new york waterway and all the first responders of new york and new jersey. >> reporter: if the same thing happened today, would the outcome be the same? and could you do it again?

>> wasn't once enough? >> he could do it again. >> our thanks to amy. we've all heard the skies are saech safer than the ground, but what happens when something goes wrong at 30,000 feet? '4 00 feet? '4 olitis. but i realized something was missing... me. the thought of my symptoms returning was keeping me from being there for the people and things i love most. so, i talked to my doctor and learned humira can help get, and keep, uc under control when other medications haven't worked well enough. and it helps people achieve control that lasts so you could experience few or no symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores.

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this special edition of "nightline," moment of impact, continues. >> now to those terrifying moments when all does not go as planned in the air. the moment of impact, leaving lasting impressions on the heroes and those they helped. what we learn in the aftermath. we've all heard it time and again. it's safer to get on a plane and

fly than to travel almost any other way. >> you are much more likely to die in a big city walking across the street and getting hit by a car than if you get in a jetliner and fly across the country or across the world. >> reporter: but still we are sometimes reminded of just what is at stake when something goes wrong at 30,000 feet. >> even though it's safer than ever to fly, people still are shaken when they hear about a plane crash, because so many people die at once. >> reporter: just yesterday, a potential break in the investigation into lion air 610 which crashed last october off the coast of indonesia. they recover the the cockpit coc recorder from the java sea. >> it will help us understand why the pilots made the decision they made. >> reporter: the piloted radioed shortly after takeoff to request

return. but just moments later, losing sea, killing all 189 people on board. the brand new jet had just been delivered to the low-coast indonesian airline in august. after weeks of searching, the plane's flight recorder was recovered. the data providing details into the chilling moments aboard that flight. >> a sensor was giving wrong information to the computer. it was basically telling the plane's computer that there was a problem. it was going to stall, and they needed to nose down in order to get some airspeed and keep the aircraft flying. >> reporter: the pilots pulled the nose up repeatedly before finally losing control. >> lion air has expressed its displeasure with boeing in not talking more loudly about this safety system installed in the 737 maxes. but most pilots believe the crew should have shut off that

automatic system. >> reporter: in response to the preliminary investigation, boeing stated the safety of our airplanes, our customers, passengers and their crews is always our top priority. as our customers and passengers continue to fly the 737 max to hundreds of destations around the world every day three have our assurance that the 737 max is as safe as any airplane that has ever flown the skies. >> airplane manufacturers are going to continue to push for ought make in their airplanes, things that will make them safer. >> reporter: and we still rely on humans for integral safety inspections. >> there are very specific guidelines from manufacturers on how airlines inspect their aircraft. >> reporter: just last fall a round of ntsb inspections around the world found it's cases of planes with cracked fan blades.

after the harrowing ordeal aboard southwest 1480. a woman who was partially sucked out of the aircraft died. >> this accident was almost unbelievable. you don't hear those kind of things happening in an aircraft. rapid decompression after that window blew out. >> reporter: the flight care eyeing 1careying 144 passengers, after reaching 32,000 feet. >> a shard shattered the glass. >> reporter: a broken fan blade caused the engine to rip apart midair. the plane then plunging nearly 20,000 feet. as soon as the left engine was ripped apart, the jet banked severely to the left, more than 40 degrees. >> everybody breathe, relax! >> reporter: this flight attendant urging calm amid the

chaos and terror. then jennifer reardon, a mother of two was partially sucked out of the plane. the die virtsverted to philadelphia. >> is your airplane physically on fire? >> no, it's not on fire, but part of it's missing. they said there's a hole and someone went out. >> i'm sorry. you said there's a hole and someone went out? >> reporter: the pilot hit the pavement safely at 190 miles per hour, 55 miles per hour faster than a normal landing. once on the ground passengers are quickly evacuated. at least seven suffered minor injuries. an investigation would ensue. inspectors checking the shred engine and debris along the ground. the mandates that southwest airlines inspect all engine fan

blades across the fleet. they would find no additional flaws. the ntsb investigation is still ongoing. >> the final outcome will be a recommendation to either keep the inspections where they are now or possibly increase them more if the ntsb thinks not enough is being done right now. >> reporter: but airplane accidents don't often happen while the plane is at cruising altitude. >> almost all happen in the takeoff or land beiing phase. >> reporter: last july, an aero-mexico plane crashed into a field moments after takeoff, with more than 100 passengers and crew on board. >> we started seeing fire. >> reporter: mexican authorities say a gust of wind rocked the airliner just after it left the runway, causing the plane's left wing to hit the ground, knocking two engines loose before eventually skidding to a stop. passengers escaping the wreckage just before flames shot out of

the plane. incredibly, not a single life loel lost. >> i think this is something about flying. it's about riding a bus or a train. you're giving up control. i think that's most fearful for us. we can't do anything when something goes wrong. >> reporter: and as the shutdown closes on day 25, questions about our infrastructure remain. today the faa recalled additional workers. >> they are bringing them back without pay to maintain the safety and you and i can feel safe getting on the jet and flying to our destination. when we come back, a toast to ten years. those survivors celebrateding the miracle that gave them a second chance. this special edition of "nightline" is sponsored by geico. geico. advertising icons.

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and finally tonight, one more note about the miracle on the hudson. it was 3:31 this afternoon when captain sully and the survivors

of that fatlit gatheth exact ti theirhe water, plus ten years. they raised a glass, a toast to life and their second chance to live it fully. a moment of impapgt. thank you for watching "nightline." as always, our full episodes are streaming on hulu. thanks for the company, america. goodnight.