On Jan. 15, Catherine Brosseau was working on the upper westside of New York when a US Airways plane bound for Charlotte, NC crashed into the Hudson River after aborting its takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York.
She, along with her husband Randy, a Goodrich High School graduate, and their two children, Raegan, 3, and Jack, 2, live in a highrise building on the Hudson River in West New York, NJ.
‘I had a hard time getting home after work because I take the ferry everyday, the one they used to rescue all those people from the plane in the water,? said Catherine Brosseau, 34, a producer for ABC-20/20 and 1992 Brandon High School graduate.
‘On Thursday I had to take the bus home from Manhattan because the ferry was used to rescue the passengers. I could see fire trucks and police cars along the water that were helping the people.?
‘We live on the waterfront. I did not see the plane in the water. By the time I got home that day it was dark,? she said. ‘From our balcony, the plane came down less than a mile away.?
‘They took the airline passengers to the ferry terminal and to the hospital next door to our home, Palisade’s Medical Center. My husband used to serve on the board of directors at that hospital. Some of those rescued went to the restaurant nearby, Arthur’s Landing, where some people changed into chef’s smocks and had sandwiches and scotch.?
According to news reports, a flock of birds apparently disabled both of the plane’s engines. Rescuers pulled the more than 150 passengers and crew members into boats before the plane sank, authorities say.
‘It’s my understanding that many of the passengers were getting tired of being stared at by people after they were rescued from the plane.?
‘Right now, less than a week after the crash, the Hudson River has big chunks of ice floating in it,? she said. ‘It’s amazing that when the plane went down in the river near 48th Street in midtown Manhattan, the river was open and pretty much ice-free. Sometimes that ferry, which I’m on everyday, gets bogged down with ice when I take it to work.?
Catherine Brosseau is the daughter of Ortonville businessman Robert Wilk.