10 Years After Miracle on The Hudson, LI Survivor Thanks Sully

NORTH FORK, NY – Tuesday marked 10 years since Mattituck resident Bill Zuhoski's plane plunged into the Hudson River — and he became one of the 155 people onboard US Airways flight 1549 saved by the heroism of pilot Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger.

Back in 2009, Zuhoski was just 23, on his way to join a birthday celebration — but, after boarding in LaGuardia, the plane hit a flight of Canada geese and lost engine power, sending the plane and all passengers plunging into the icy depths below.

The amazing story of survival was later made into a hit movie, "Sully,"starring Tom Hanks in the starring role.

In an interview after the crash in 2009 with the Independent, Zuhoski, who had fallen asleep in his seat, awoke to find himself in a terrifying situation. "Everyone knew what was happening. There was a feeling that these were the last people you were going to see," he said in the report.

And, he told the Independent in 2009, as the plane went down, his thoughts went to his loved ones. "The guy on my left grabbed my arm and we interlinked arms," he said. "The moment of impact hit hard. . . My head slammed forward onto the seat and my glasses blew off. I can't see a foot in front of me without my glasses. . . I couldn't believe I was alive."

Finding himself in chest high, freezing water, he was able to escape the plane — and move out into the daylight into the rest of his life.

Today, Zuhoski is married with a little boy, Billy. On Tuesday, Zuhoski spoke with Patch while on vacation in Florida with his family. Remembering that life-altering day, Zuhoski described the heart-stopping moments, forever etched into his mind: "My most vivid memory is probably trying to exit the plane with everyone panicking, looking for an exit with the water rushing in and thinking, 'I just survived a plane crash but now I’m going to drown in the back of the plane.' Water rushed in the back so fast — and being three rows from the back of the plane, we tried to use the last row of exits, not knowing the back of the plane was underwater."

When asked how he was feeling on the 10-year anniversary, Zuhoski said: "I've actually thought about it a lot lately, especially since I just flew down to Disney with my wife and 11-month old son. I thought about how he wouldn’t be here if Sully wasn’t able to do what he did. Life has been great the last 10 years — and only getting better."

He added: "Baby Billy says, 'Thank you for my daddy, Sully!"

Patch photo courtesy Bill Zuhoski.