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NEW YORK (CNN) -- Emergency officials are responding to a downed plane in the Hudson River in New York City, according to the city fire and police departments.

US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 headed from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina, was down in the river after a failed takeoff, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The U.S. Coast Guard said units were also responding, and a ferry on site was dropping life jackets into the water.

The plane approached the water at a gradual angle and made a big splash, according to a witness watching from an office building.

"It wasn't going particularly fast. It was a slow contact with the water that it made," said the witness, Ben VonKlemperer.

An Airbus A320 can hold a maximum of 179 passengers and a flight crew of two, depending on the configuration.

CNN