Newsday has the transcript and audio of US Airways flight 1549, that short hop from LaGuardia to the Hudson River.
It starts with Capt. Chesley Sullenberger saying “This is, uh, Cactus 1539, hit birds. We’ve lost thrust in both engines, returning back towards LaGuardia.” (“Cactus” is the air traffic call sign for US Airways.)
Sure, he got the flight number slightly wrong, and later the traffic controller says “1529,” but they both seem pretty good at their jobs. (Turns out the captain was flying *and* talking as his co-pilot worked to restart the engines.)
The best part is Sullenberger, with his plane over the George Washington Bridge and dropping like an 80-ton rock, saying casually, “What’s over to our right, anything in New Jersey, maybe Teterboro?”
Impressive stuff.