A U.S. Airways plane made a controlled crash landing on the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon following a failed takeoff blamed on a possible bird strike.

Authorities said all 150 passengers and five crew members aboard the plane survived with no major injuries.

Passengers wait to be rescued on the wings of a U.S. Airways plane after it landed in the Hudson River in New York, the United States, on Jan. 15, 2009. The U.S. Airways jet on way from New York to Charlotte Thursday crashed into the Hudson River off the west side of Manhattan with more than 150 people on board. [He Bin/Xinhua]

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it appeared that all 155 people aboard are safe, although authorities were still verifying the tally of passengers.

Bloomberg told a press conference that the pilot of the plane, who he said made a "masterful" crash landing on the river, "walked the plane twice" after everyone was believed to have escaped.

Some of the injured were taken to hospitals in New York and New Jersey across the Hudson River, where some were treated for hypothermia. The air temperature was as low as minus 6.7 degrees Celsius while water temperature was at 4.4 degrees.

U.S. Airways Flight 1549 was headed to Charlotte, North Carolina, from New York's LaGuardia Airport, officials said.

Initial reports said a bird strike caused both engines of the plane to fail moments after take-off, but U.S. Airways CEO Doug Parker said it was premature to speculate about the cause of the accident.

Officials of the National Transportation Safety Board were heading for New York to investigate the cause of the crash.

Laura Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the plane appeared to have hit one or more birds, The Associated Press reported.

Fire department, Coast Guard and Circle Line cruise boats and commuter ferries all joined the rescue efforts, which were lauded by New York State Governor David Paterson as a "miracle on the Hudson".

"This is a potential tragedy that may have become one of New York City's most spectacular days," Paterson said, praising the "heroic" pilot, who was able to make the emergency landing in the river and avoid nearby skyscrapers.

The submerged plane was later towed to Battery Park in lower Manhattan and tied to a pier. It will eventually be pulled out for investigation, Bloomberg said.

The mayor said there was "absolutely no indication whatsoever" of terrorism involved in the incident.

A rescued passenger, Alberto Panero, told CNN that he heard a loud bang and "the plane shook a bit; immediately the plane just started turning."

The last major plane accident in New York was the Nov. 12, 2001, crash of American Airlines Flight 587, which left John F. Kennedy International Airport for the Dominican Republic, killing all 260 people aboard and five on the ground.

Passengers are rescued after a U.S. Airways plane landed in the Hudson River in New York, the United States, on Jan. 15, 2009. The U.S. Airways jet on way from New York to Charlotte Thursday crashed into the Hudson River off the west side of Manhattan with more than 150 people on board. [Xinhua]

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2009)