Miracle of the Hudson Plane Crash

Sunday January 15 at 8 pm ET/PT on CBC News Network

On Thursday 15th January 2009, 155 people on board US Airways flight 1549 faced their worst nightmare. Less than two minutes into the flight, a flock of geese struck the plane, breaking both engines. With no power, Captain Chesley Sullenberger decides he has only one real option: to guide his crippled plane away from crowded Manhattan and attempt the near impossible - to land in the Hudson River.

Miracle of the Hudson Plane Crash is a fast turnaround documentary that tells the minute by minute story of that day through the compelling first hand testimonies of those who were there - from the passengers, eyewitnesses and the rescuers. At the heart of the programme are the passengers who shared this life-changing experience. In addition, we will forensically unpack how the plane managed to land so successfully on water. Using an airline flight simulator, CGI, and an experienced airline pilot we will recreate the fateful flight and explore the diminishing choices available to Captain Sullenberger and how he managed to execute the perfect disaster.

Few people have faced death in a plane crash and lived to tell their tale. Woven with archive from the day, our own CGI and footage from a flight simulator, these candid, honest interviews will reveal what it's like to think you only have seconds to live.