? Less than a minute after US Airways Flight 1549 crashed into the cold waters of the Hudson River Thursday, New York Waterway ferries were on the scene to aid in the rescue of the crash victims.

One of the first ferries to get up close to the plane was the Thomas Jefferson. The boat?s crew sprang into action immediately after the plane touched down.

Michael Starr, along with Port Captain Vincent LuCante, says they made quick run to the sinking plane, where they found passengers in the water and on rafts.

"You don't expect to do it for an airplane, usually you expect to do drills for one or two people at a time, not 30 or 40 or 155 for that matter," says Starr.

Upon arriving at the scene, Starr says the first thing they did was pull people out of the water and rescue passengers off rafts.

?We saved 142 of the 155. If it happened somewhere else we could not, it was just on one of our routes,? says New York Waterway CEO Arthur Imperatore.

In a news conference Friday morning, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed his gratitude to New Jersey resident and New York Waterway Director of Operations Alan Warren . In addition, Captain Vince Lombardi was applauded for being among the many who helped save the 155 passengers.

For extended plane crash coverage go to iO Channel 612.