NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- The pilot aboard U.S. Airways Flight 1549 came over the speaker system and told passengers `` brace for impact . '' One passenger turned on his cell phone so his body could be found with its GPS tracking . Others reflected on their lives . iReporter Julie Pukelis used a camera and a telescope to get this view of the crash scene on the Hudson River . Survivors said it was about 20 seconds later when the plane struck the water of the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon . Each of them lauded the heroics of the pilot , Chesley B . `` Sully '' Sullenberger III . Here are survivor accounts in their own words : Watch message to pilot : `` I 'll buy you a beer '' » . Vince Spera `` He 's the man ! He 's absolutely the man . ... If you want to talk to a hero , get ahold of him because that is the hero in this whole deal . '' Spera described `` the moment of impact '' : `` Have you ever been in a speedboat and hit some wake ? That 's what it felt like , when you go over the wake and you hit the water again . ... It was n't that bad of an impact , which was strange . And then after that , there was n't a lot of yelling and screaming . It was fairly orderly getting off the plane . '' Valerie Collins . As the pilot announced the plane was going down , Collins grabbed her cell phone . `` I grabbed my phone and turned it on and got my husband 's name and texted him , 'My flight is crashing , ' because I wanted him to know I was thinking of him and , also , I did n't want there to be this , if it did turn out terrible , a time where he was trying to figure out if I was on there or not . '' Collins described trying to exit from the back of the plane and the problems a flight attendant had . `` She had tried to open both of the back doors and could n't get them open because of the water pressure . But they were open enough that the water was flowing in . And all of a sudden , she said , 'We 're in the water , go to the wings . ' And she looked at me and she said , 'We have two minutes . ' `` Andrew Jamison `` God was certainly looking out for all of us . '' Watch one describe how `` the engine blew '' » . Brad Wentzell Wentzell cried when talking about returning home to snuggle with his young daughter . `` When I get home , I am going to take my nose and put it by her ear , her little warm body and give her a nice kiss from Daddy . I 'm alive . That 's it . I do n't have much else to say . '' `` We have a second chance in life . '' See photos of the `` Miracle on the Hudson '' » . Carl Bazariane `` We were all looking to see how we were gon na die . It was really strange . '' On the crash landing , he said , `` Usually in moments like that , you would expect chaos . It got really quiet and nobody said a word . There was a child crying . That was about it . That was understandable . '' Joe Hart He said passengers did n't panic on the plane . It was only after the crash when things got chaotic , he said . `` It 's when we got outside and in the cold water . And I mean the water was cold . Within seconds , my legs were numb , standing in the cold water . '' See a map of where the plane went down » . `` We 're just happy to be around . We 're just happy to be around . '' Jeff Kolodjay `` The plane started filling with water pretty quick . ... It was scary . There was a lady with her baby on my left-hand shoulder , and she was crawling over the seats . '' Alberto Panero On the `` brace for impact '' moment : `` That 's the only thing that was said . I guess that 's probably a better thing so that people did n't panic . But at the time , he said it so calmly . From that point until we hit the water , it was pretty quick . '' He said he turned on his cell phone before impact so that his body could be found via GPS . Panero added , `` We just hit , and somehow the plane stayed afloat , and we were able to get on the raft . It 's just incredible right now that everybody 's still alive . '' Fred Berretta `` I think a lot of people started praying and just collecting themselves , '' Berretta said . `` It was quite stunning . '' He said he was expecting the plane to flip over and break apart , but it did n't . `` It was a great landing , '' he said .
NEW : Passenger Valerie Collins says a back exit would n't open and water rushed in . Passengers aboard U.S. Airways Flight 1549 hail the pilot for his heroics . Passenger Carl Bazariane : `` We were all looking to see how we were gon na die '' `` We have a second chance in life , '' Brad Wentzell says .