At 5.43 p.m. on January 2, 2024, a just-landed brand new A350 airliner hit a 6-seat light aircraft on standby at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport runway. The airliner instantly burst into flames, but luckily all the 379 passengers and crew onboard evacuated to safety within 18 minutes.

Ten minutes later, the airliner exploded, and the body was completely burned down. Unfortunately, five crew members from the Japanese Coast Guard were killed, and one seriously injured, in this tragic incident.

The mishap brought back memories of the Hudson River miracle in Manhattan.

January 15, 2009, an A320 which had taken off just four minutes earlier flew into a flock of Canadian geese, causing both its engines to fail. At 3.31 p.m., the aircraft made an emergency landing on New York’s Hudson River.

Back then the river was frozen at -7 degrees Celsius. But luckily enough, with the masterful control of the 51-year-old pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, as well as assistance from other parties, all 155 passengers onboard escaped safely.

The Hudson River miracle was subsequently made into a movie, and Sully became an American hero!

Hudson River is flanking Manhattan island on the west, separating it from the state of New Jersey and West New York. There are three airports of various sizes in the vicinity, and aeroplanes can be spotted readily above the city skyline.

Behind us, NYPD cars could be seen busily playing Manhattan’s grid streets, along with equally busy ambulance vans with their loud sirens, not to mention the massive traffic jams and towering skyscrapers everywhere… What a dynamic metropolis, as exciting as portrayed in Hollywood movies!

As a matter of fact, the island of Manhattan, measuring only 59 square kilometres, hosts a daytime population of four million, with over two million residents. Besides, Manhattan also boasts more than 50 million tourists annually.

Such a high density of human congregation is unparalleled on this planet.

Central Park, the global financial centre, NYSE, Times Square, and immigrants all seem to assemble here. Even the homeless can be spotted everywhere across the 22-kilometre-long and 3.7-kilometre-wide island.

In Manhattan, different classes of New Yorkers have their own rules for survival as well as needs. But, is New York a sin city, or is it the epitome of the American dream? Of course, it is never wrong to say that New York is the focal point of the world.

Who can forget the September 11 attacks taking place at 8.46 a.m. on September 11, 2001? Two low-flying aeroplanes (again!) successively hit the two towers of the 110-storey, 417-metre (then the second tallest in the world) World Trade Centre in Downtown Manhattan, destroying also over a dozen of other buildings in the vicinity.

The incident shocked the whole of America and the world. That was the second time in history the United States had come under foreign attack, after the Pearl Harbour bombing in Hawaii by the Japanese.

Soon afterwards, out of everyone’s expectation, two more aircraft joined the suicide attack operation. Although they missed their intended targets, the aircraft crashed, killing everyone onboard.

According to statistics, the attacks killed a total of 2,996 people, including 343 of Manhattan’s firemen and all passengers and crew aboard the doomed aircraft.

Notably, the victims came from some 90 countries around the world. And this shows how cosmopolitan NYC is.

The thing is, the terror attacks ignited the flames of conflicts around the world. Even the adjacent Statue of Liberty was frowning, believing that the US would go after the perpetrators one after another, and there would be no peace on Earth thereafter!

With a heavy mood, I was then slowly walking towards the 911 Memorial on the site of the destroyed WTC twin towers, or Ground Zero.

The tragic incident that happened all of a sudden killed many people who did not even have an additional second to realise what was actually befalling them, including those in the crashed aircraft, and stranded inside the targeted buildings! The horrendous scene had become the greatest pain of the victims’ families. They asked themselves when the hateful vengeance of humans would come to an end!

A stone’s throw away from the WTC site is the world’s biggest Chinatown, where you can find not only migrants from southern China and Hong Kong, but also Malaysians who have made the neighbourhood their new home.

Simon and Kim, who arrived from Ipoh 35 years ago, sighed: While on the surface Manhattan does look glitzy and posh, the sad reality is that there is a vast disparity in wealth distribution among the people here. 85% of the city’s white, black and other coloured New Yorkers are working like dogs for the 15% super rich. Moreover, the city is extremely unsafe, and many of its amenities are in disrepair, whereas the cost of living is high. Life could be extremely tough here!

Indeed, American born Chinese are all reluctant to live in New York’s dilapidated Chinatown. That said, the Chinatown sits on the city’s prime land much sought after by real estate developers. It is a matter of time Chinatown properties will eventually fall into the hands of real estate tycoons.

As a matter of fact, Manhattan is also a must-see destination for travellers from across the world. Dubbed the Crossroads of the World, Times Square is an international landmark known for its New Year Eve countdown, while Fifth Avenue, 45th Street and Soho are a hive of activity 24/7.

As for Wall Street, any irregular movement on NYSE or NASDAQ will send ripples across the world’s markets. In addition, the headquarters of the United Nations representing 193 sovereign countries of the world, is also located here in New York City.

The city is veritably the centre of the world, a global melting pot, a class of its own among global metropolises.

As for me, I love that there is order in the city’s seemingly uncompromising chaos!

(Lee San is Founder and Group Executive Chairman of Apple Vacations. He has travelled to 132 countries, six continents, and enjoys sharing his travel stories and insights. He has also authored five books.)