As soon as the plane hit the water, “a small flotilla of boats” arrived to rescue passengers, including the Coast Guard Cutter Ridley, and New York Police Department divers. Tom Fox, general manager, brought the New York Water Taxi to assist as well.

Mayor Bloomberg said the pilot did “a masterful job.” I agree–landing a plane dead stick over America’s densest metropolis without a single casualty is amazing. If the City of New York doesn’t award him a stipend and medal, US Airways had better write him a $1M bonus for his excellent performance. The Airforce might also be interested in someone of his talents.

Please see Latest Updates on Hudson Jet Rescue from the New York Times for more information! Gawker has also setup a Hudson Plane Crash tag.

“It is not a good thing” for that information to be in the public domain, said Lt. Col Bruce Alexander, director of public affairs for the Air Mobility Command’s 89th Airlift Wing, Andrews Air Force Base, which operates the presidential air transport fleet. “We are concerned with how it got there and how we can get it out. This affects operational security.”

Information about Secret Service stations and anti-aircraft missile technology is considered especially sensitive. However, in the interest of public freedom of information, I’ve searched google for information about the VC-25, also known as the “Air Force One.” Here’s what I found:

Exploitable delicate areas of the VC-25:

Titled Aircraft Hazards, this document includes a description of where the Infrared Countermeasures (IRCM) unit is located, the temperature and noise levels of its four engines, where oxygen tanks are located in the plane, entry and exit points, emergency engine shutdown controls, and security placement.

Here are snapshots of the interesting slides, a visual guide to the Air Force One VC-25:

Basic facts about the VC-25:

A special transportation report gives a slide with basic information about the VC-25, such as airspeed, dimensions, range, and other statistical snippets. The photo is reproduced below:

None of this is classified, top secret, etc, but it could definitely be used negatively. For more information, please consider the following resources:

• Wizbang Blog
• Benton Republicans
• UrbanNerd
• Digg