NTSB: Jet's engines lost power simultaneously

NEW YORK -- A jetliner that crash-landed in the Hudson River had lost power at the same time in both engines after reaching an altitude of only 3,200 feet, the plane's black box recorders revealed Sunday.

The details that emerged confirmed the circumstances under which the pilot of the US Airways flight carrying 155 people maneuvered the plane over New York City and safely into the water after striking a flock of birds Thursday afternoon.

"The captain makes radio call to [air traffic control] calling mayday and reports that they hit birds, lost both engines and were returning to LaGuardia" airport, said Kitty Higgins, a National Transportation Safety Board member, releasing cockpit transmissions captured on flight data and voice recorders.

The wreckage of the Airbus A320 was being moved by barge Sunday night to New Jersey, where investigators planned to inspect the extent of the damage more closely.

Investigators already have seen significant damage to the tail and to compartments at the bottom of the plane that opened on impact, Higgins said.

The search for the plane's missing left engine is suspended until Tuesday because ice floes in the river make it too dangerous to put divers or special sonar equipment in the water, Higgins said.

She heaped praised the flight crew, led by US Airways Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, who spoke to NTSB investigators Saturday.

"Miracles happen because a lot of everyday things happen for years and years and years," she said. "These people knew what they were supposed to do and they did it and as a result, nobody lost their life."