Plane Crash Lands on Micronesian Lagoon

All 47 people on board the Air Niugini flight survived.

An Air Niugini flight in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, (PNG) 21 March. An Air Niugini Flight Crash Landed onto the waters of Micronesia September 28, and all onboard survived.  (Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images)
An Air Niugini flight in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, (PNG) 21 March. An Air Niugini Flight Crash Landed onto the waters of Micronesia September 28, and all onboard survived. (Photo by STR/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images

A plane crash landed in the Micronesia archipelago Friday morning, and all 47 passengers and crew members survived. The rescue recalled the 2009 Miracle on the Hudson, as those on board the plane escaped from the water-landed plane to local boats that arrived to help.

The Air Niugini flight took off from the Pohnpei island of Micronesia, landing in the water 435 miles later. Officials do not yet know what caused the crash, and exactly what transpired remains blurry. A passenger, Bill Jaynes, said he assumed that the plane had been unable to stop at the end of the runway and continued into the water, while the airline said the plane landed short of the runway.

“I thought we landed hard,” Jaynes said. “Until I looked over and saw a hole in the side of the plane and water was coming in,” he continued.

Seven people onboard were hospitalized, and officials described one person as being in critical but stable condition. Officials are launching an investigation into the origins of the crash.

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