At 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, a social media account reported a US Airways plane that had crashed into the River Thames near Rainham Marshes. This occurred as a result of an engine failure brought on by a drone collision, which made the aircraft land in the water.
The social media app called ‘X’, formally known as Twitter, user @thamestweets posted a picture of the plane crash, which immediately caught the attention of the public, but most importantly, emergency services from all surrounding areas. The picture also showed passengers being transferred from the plane to lifeboats.
It had been confirmed that the radar contact was lost with flight US132 at 2:31 p.m. At that time, the flight had just taken off from London City Airport and was set to arrive in Amsterdam; unfortunately, that was not the case in this instance. The pilot on board reported an engine failure and didn’t have enough power left to return to the starting point, which left the pilot no choice but to try and land in the water.
Officers eventually showed up at the scene, including the RNLI lifeboat from Gravesend. Meanwhile, passengers were exiting the plane and making their way on the wings and life rafts on the aircraft.
A passenger tweeted not long after the incident, by the name of Nadine Johnson, about her experience on the aircraft during that time. She mentioned that she did not expect to be standing on the wing of an aircraft in the middle of the Thames on her birthday. Nadine then continued to thank the pilot for getting her down from the wing safe and sound. The Airways staff report says there were 42 passengers and 6 crew members on board; all survived, with only two passengers having minor injuries.
It was also reported that a passenger in the accident was rushed to Queens Hospital after a supposed heart attack. Essex police and ambulance services, along with the Purfleet Heritage and Military Centre, took care of all the passengers. Food and drink were provided, and they also had access to call there relatives, and arrangements were made to make sure everyone returned home safely. The BTP has investigated reports from flight US132 to find that after the collision, there were original reports of a birdstrike, but what was found was drone debris when the engines of the plane were examined.