Let's hear it for the pilot of that Hudson River airbus!

[WilliamPitt]

The pilot lost both engines in an eyeblink right after takeoff - geese in the engines, and suddenly that plane went from a being marvel of engineering to a multi-ton paperweight - and managed to put that bigass plane down in one piece above the waterline. People are bring rescued, damned fucking cold, but still alive. Bringing a crippled plane down on the water like that...it's like trying to skip a stone the size of the Washington Monument.

Kudos to the pilot. Nerves of tempered steel to do this one right.

:toast:

UPDATE FROM MY FRIEND THE PILOT: Apparently, birds are not the only dangerous threat to air travel today. My pilot friend had to do two emergency landings today. Two. I'm guessing the cold is the cause, he hasn't written back yet with details. So this Hudson pilot was already flying into a shitshow before Canada intervened with ballistic feather pillows.

[uppityperson]

1. Indeed, did a great job.

[TahitiNut]

72. Impossible. After all, that's (OMG!) "organized labor"!!

Gotta love unionized workers, huh? :applause:

[DissedByBush]

139. He's an ex Air Force fighter pilot

And an extremely talented one as well.

I saw an attempted water landing in calm seas off a shore in Europe that went very badly. A slight dip of one wing and instant cartwheel.

[Occam Bandage]

2. Damn straight.

Sometimes people claim pilots are overpaid for what they do, or suggest that pilots will be replaced with remote controls sometime soon. Bullshit. That pilot saved over a hundred forty lives today.

[WilliamPitt]

6. My best friend's brother is a captain and an air marshall.

It's an amazingly serious job...and pilots only get paid $25k a year, for the most part. Captains get a lot more, but pilots get diddly poo. Bus drivers make more.

[JuniperLea]

13. WHAT!!?!???!?

$25k a year! That's insanity!

There is no stinking way I should make so much more than a freaking pilot! Are you sure about that figure, Will? That is madness!

[WilliamPitt]

15. This is what he told me.

Standard throughout the industry. If you go from one airline to another, no matter how long you've been a pilot, you revert back to lowest pay status.

Captains make six figures or close to it, pilots make shit. Their pensions and health insurance policies barely exist. The whole industry is a death ship.

$25k. Indeed.

[peacetalksforall]

28. That was before the airlines instituted B levels. Grandfathered pilots, not

necessarily grandfathers, make more = old rates - good rates, good pensions.

$25,000.00 - is a break the back of unions pay. Anti-union. In the name of losses and bankruptcies that most always recover from.

[JuniperLea]

38. That was my next thought...

Where the hell are the unions... oh, yeah. Nevermind. That thudding sound you hear is unions dying all over the place. I remember Reagan was particularly hard on the air traffic controllers... another hell of a stressful and uber important job.

We live in bizarro world.

[Usrename]

84. I know a lot of students from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

It's very common for them to owe more than $100,000.00 in student loans and yet their starting pay is still less than $25,000.00.

And no one is flying very much because of the economy, so the ones who are working at all are the lucky ones. Most are delivering pizza.

[JuniperLea]

89. That is too sad

On too many levels.

Education should be free for all US citizens. How the hell do we expect to compete? I had three kids in college at the same time... I refer to them as the mac and cheese years.

[peacetalksforall]

93. Same story for cabin attendents. And no tips, like a barista.. Really sad. A theft of an

industrial-politico kind. The directors of what happens to us want know unions - they are already organized, unlike disparate protestors.

[bulloney]

199. Pilots make $25,000, but the idiots of Wall Street who nearly destroyed our economy make millions.

And for what? Creating "wealth" out of thin air!

Doesn't make sense to me.

[JuniperLea]

20. Crap! You are correct...

Check out these commercial and airline pilot salaries *

American Airlines: 1st yr F/O: $31,080 and 10th yr Captain $123,420

Delta Airlines: 1st yr F/O: $50,400 and 10th yr Captain $204,636

UPS: 1st yr F/O: $26,004 and 10th yr Captain $200,508

Southwest: 1st yr F/O: $42,960 and 10th yr Captain $159,000

ATA: 1st yr F/O: $36,000 and 10th yr Captain $136,632

Airborne Express: 1st yr F/O $28,536 and 10th yr Captain $146,184


http://www.pea.com/imd/airline-pilot-salary.asp


That is insane. There is no freaking way I should be making more than three times a pilot's salary! Jesus Mary and freaking Joseph!!!

Edited to say, IMHO, the starting salary should be no lower than $75k. I cannot imagine being put in such a stressful situation where the lives of others are in my hands, and the pay is so low. This isn't right.

[WilliamPitt]

31. Welcome to my world.

Had a few drinks with my friend's brother and he told me shit that would turn your mind into terrified goo. Like the time another air marshall came to fly hung over, went to puke in the john, and left his .40 H&K pistol on the counter next to the sink. The think was loaded with 16 bullets designed to balloon on contact so as not to pass through a body and blow out the cabin wall. A passenger found the gun and turned it in.

That's mild. The industry is a disaster zone...but most of the pilots and captains are serious hardcore professionals, like the one in the water today. Pay scales are so bad because every airline loses money no matter what they do.

[JuniperLea]

34. That makes my heart sink.

This is so wrong.

[WilliamPitt]

39. Here's a good one

Remember the pilot who safely landed that JetBlue plane with the front landing gear jammed sideways? He did the long approach and wheelied down the runway with the front wheel up to kill his speed, and then gently set it down on the busted strut and parked the landing.

The wheelie he popped was almost as long as the long-ass runway he used.

Every other pilot in the industry was insanely jealous.

So they all started landing that way for the next few weeks, if they had enough runway. Looooooong wheelie with the front wheel up, and then *boomph*, drop the front wheel down. I was on a plane that landed like this, just after the JetBlue thing. We were nose-up on the ground for about 11 football fields before he finally parked the front tires.

Fun and games.

[JuniperLea]

87. Oh man! I'd have a coronary if I knew that shit was going down!

I guess every industry has it's fun and games, but Jesus!

I'm under strict and potentially career fatal non-disclosure, so I don't ever get to share my industry fun and games:( But damn! Even at that there is nothing that risks life and limb!

[TorchTheWitch]

123. I remember that! God, so nerve wracking to watch

The whole thing was live on tv. Terrifying to watch but totally remarkable landing I wouldn't have wanted to miss seeing.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

239. Jet Blue has seatback television sets

Passengers got to watch their drama unfold live on one of the many L.A. television stations. I think they turned the system off during the actual landing, though.

As always in a situation like this, the first responders weren't the emergency crews - it was the lawyers!

[TorchTheWitch]

247. Imagine that... watching your own emergency landing live on tv!

How bizzare! I hope they did turn them off on the plane for the landing.

[October]

209. Deregulation, B--pay scales, anti-unionism

All have served to lower the pilots' wages.

The airlines treat pilots horribly. If they could fly the planes without pilots, nothing would make "management" happier.

FedEx (an airline) is no different. They violate the contract with their pilots' union routinely with a "sue me" attitude. They are getting all kinds of fuzzy warm press for not participating in the mega-bucks Super Bowl ad frenzy this year to show empathy for their employees. Never mind that they sponsor how many golf tournaments, the Rose Bowl, auto racing, not to mention FedEx Field in Washington DC. I know PR is good, but please. Fred Smith (CEO) took a 20% pay cut, which would probably have made up the pay cut he had 36,000 employees take. And their pilots? They're unionized (paid by the hour)in that pitiful right-to-work state of Tennessee where the company is based. So how do they handle them? Easy. They just "reduced their hours" way before the economy tanked or anyone else took a pay cut. And these guys fly and land on the back side of the clock, while we sleep.

So, even when these companies are financially successful, and earning RECORD profits, they show utter contempt for their flight crews.

[nichomachus]

210. Here's an extremely disturbing statistic

Since 9/11, more than three dozen federal air marshals have been charged with crimes, and hundreds more have been accused of misconduct, an investigation by ProPublica, a nonprofit journalism organization, has found. Cases range from drunken driving and domestic violence to aiding a human-trafficking ring and trying to smuggle explosives from Afghanistan.

http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3819127

[cpamomfromtexas]

149. There are no 10 yr Captains at American Airlines- more like 20 yrs to get there.

[mn9driver]

157. Saw this post after landing in Flint this morning at 12:15 am

In the middle of my flying work week. These numbers are mostly too high for the F/O's. 1st year (probation) pay is lower in many cases. The Delta 10 year captain pay is way too high--in reality it is about the same as American's pay.

Two other things to consider--

1. None of these airlines actually have any 10 year Captains. These days it usually takes more like 15 years or more to get that seat at a major airline, if you're lucky. The USairways captain was extremely experienced. Good thing!

2. The UPS rates are probably accurate--freight flying is not the same business as passenger flying. Freight pilots (UPS, Fedex) make two to three times more than passenger pilots do. If that seems confusing, just check to see how much they would charge to ship a 200 pound package on a round trip, and compare that to the airfare for the same trip as a passenger. Freight rates are MUCH higher than passenger fares, hence, freight pilots get paid a lot more. Go figure.

Off to bed now---up in 7 hours to do it again.

Here is reality in the passenger airline world:
mn9driver:
21 year captain for a major airline
no pension
no 401k
bad, expensive health care
making less than any captains on your scale

Good night.

[Occam Bandage]

51. Indeed. I was referring to the established pilots,

not the new hires on commuter jets. As an A320 captain, I imagine the pilot of this jet is towards the upper end of the scale.

[wryter2000]

231. Randi said he probably made $40K

That sounds rather low, but he's clearly not paid enough for what he does.

[Triana]

240. $25K!?!?!!! WTF?

Please say you're kidding, William Pitt.

:wow:

[oldtime dfl_er]

55. I want that pilot flying my plane

every time I ever fly. Kudos to him or her!

[awoke_in_2003]

216. I maintain flight simulators...

and it is USUALLY pretty boring. But, like I tell people, I don't get paid for when things go good. I get paid for when they go horribly wrong.

[cali]

3. Hear, hear.

what a fantastic job the pilot and flight crew did getting that plane down safely.

[ecstatic]

4. What's that guys name? I want to fly with him from now on!

PS. Can't wait to hear the audio! They always sound so calm!

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. It's amazing how they keep their calm

You hear even those communications where they know it's all over, they're all like "Ok, we're going down now," as if they're going for lunch. I want THAT metabolism for disaster.

[Number23]

102. Me too! It's even been big news here in Australia

But come to think of it, everything in America is big news in Australia... :)

[TorchTheWitch]

125. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III

The news said his name and that he was called "Sully". He used to be a military pilot. The news also said he walked the entire plane twice just to be certain every single person got off before he did himself.

Bravo Sully!

On edit: I had thought it was Sullivan but it's Sullenberger (well, I was close :) ).

[WonderGrunion]

173. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Nathan Drake's pilot sidekick in the PS3 game "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" is named Sully and looks amazingly like Mr. Sullenberger. If I had any clue how to post pictures, I'd put up comparison photos.

[mnhtnbb]

5. Did what he was trained to do. They learn landing on water technique.

Designed to keep fuselage intact, so that it can float.

[mnhtnbb]

11. I was sitting on beach in Santa Monica about 30 some years ago when a small plane landed

on water right out in front of us. In the newspaper next day we learned it was piloted by
F. Lee Bailey, the famous attorney!

[Left Coast2020]

148. Now I know why all flights to China take a NW Route.

I didn't know at first. But I had to ask an attendant after the third flight-- why would a flight to China take a route along Pacific NW (along Oregon, WA, coast and southern portion of BC), then along the Aleutian Islands--as opposed to zipping straight across the pacific from San Francisco(SFO)?

The Answer? So the plane can follow near a land mass (at 32,000 feet) in the event that it has to make a water landing. It doesn't matter if I fly Air China, Or Korean Airlines, they both take the same route toward No. China--of course flying over Japan to land in Seoul. I hate it for the time it takes (about 10 hours--a little less), but understand the reason behind it. BTW, if you go to China for whatever reason, Korean Air is much better than Air China. More choice for movies, and food is better. Flight attendants are nicer and seen to care more. ;)

But for this pilot, this dude just earned himself a national award. Seriously. He'll be at the White House in the next few weeks. He just got his ticket to write his contract renewal. More time off? No problem? More money? Probably? And I can probably see an increase in bookings with NorthWest Air. A true champion.

[PuppyBismark]

158. No, they take a great circle route, the most direct path.

Use a globe. Take a piece of string and connect two locations one in the US and one in the far east. The shortest piece of string will be one that loops to the north and back down. It's just simple geometry. It is the most economical route and uses the least fuel. Any other route would cost more money and take longer.

[AlexDeLarge]

185. What do you wanna bet

that Bush has him in the White House just to grab some good press before he leaves?

[renate]

168. The pilot Rachel Maddow interviewed made it sound even more impressive

... in that he said they don't ever actually learn a water landing in real life. Which makes sense, of course. So it must have all been through simulation training.

:wow:

[awoke_in_2003]

218. All emergency training...

is done in simulators, because of cost and safety factors. Fuck up an emergency procedure in a sim, no big deal, just reset and try again. In a plane, not so much.

[JuniperLea]

7. Amazing stuff right there...

:toast:

Pilots are among our many unsung heroes! Too often these days the word "hero" is tossed around, and rarely does it actually fit. This pilot is a freaking hero in every sense of the word!

:toast:

[ddeclue]

8. Damned fine pilots!

Doug De Clue
Private Pilot/Aerospace Engineer

[redqueen]

9. I'll rec that.

[Ilsa]

10. Three cheers for the pilot! Excellent reaction! Wooo-hooo! nt

[redirish28]

12. Excellent job. I am just getting up to speed right now. could this have

happened because of the cold temps? Both engines failing like that?

[NMDemDist2]

17. he sucked some geese into the engines

that will ruin your day every time

[KatyaR]

100. Seriously--my company lost our head pilot and a very good friend of mine

last March in what we think happened the very same way--they took off, no problems, but someone saw them fly into a flock of geese. Slammed them nose-first right into the ground, 5 passengers and pilots killed, no survivors. The FAA is still investigating, but everyone's pretty sure that was the cause.

We have a lot of geese in our area all year long, and every time I see one,I wanna throttle it. Damnned things . . . .

[NMDemDist2]

105. my dad was a professional pilot his whole life

geese were nothing to laugh at

sorry for your loss :hug:

[KatyaR]

174. Thank you.

I've always enjoyed watching geese fly around town--now, not so much.

[Patiod]

136. They mentioned that crash on the news tonight

Didn't know that geese were one of the top aviation hazards!

[uppityperson]

18. They said hit a flock of geese.

[WilliamPitt]

19. Flock of geese into both engines. Big fat Canadian geese.

Wham and splatter. Might as well have thrown a couple of bowling balls into the engine intakes.

[Graybeard]

32. Local news reporting plane was on fire before it went down.

A reporter, Dean Meminger, with New York One News heard a loud BOOM and saw the plane with flames coming out before it hit the water. Water landing looked "controlled". Great work!

[WilliamPitt]

35. Losing an engine to foreign object damage is a fire-prone scenario.

Cooked goose pate, anyone?

Sorry. Ew. :P

[Graybeard]

44. Aaarrgh yer goose is cooked this time Will.

No reports of serious injury so we can smile.:-)

[madinmaryland]

43. I knew the Canadians hated us, but sabotaging our planes with geese??

[WilliamPitt]

52. Now I REALLY hate the Habs!!!

[Left Coast2020]

153. Good thing repugs lost this election.....

Some moron wing-nut repug would come out and start proposing legislation that geese are terrorists.

:tinfoilhat:

[truebluecollar]

151. Poor fucking ducks

:cry:

[Kajsa]

217. I know,

I feel badly for them too.

They probably got sucked into the vortex of the air intake
of the engine.They didn't have to be in front of the plane,
just near enough to hit the suction.

Just flying around( which is what they do)
minding their own damn business and

BAM- it's all over.

:(

[Scout]

187. how do you know they were Canadian?

do you mean Canada Geese?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Goose


;)

[whopis01]

236. I think it was because just before they hit

one of the geese was heard to say "oh golly, eh?"

[Graybeard]

14. The commuter ferries went to the plane immediately.

Ferries cross the Hudson all day between Manhattan and NJ. Minutes after plane went down ferries were rescuing passengers. Great work!

[Arkansas Granny]

33. There are pictures up here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE50E7K420090115

[Stephanie]

113. Some of those were tourist boats

The Circle Line is shown in the photos and that is a tourist boat that goes around Manhattan, starting off right near the Intrepid at 42nd St.

[JHB]

229. The place it came down is practically right between...

...NY Waterway (the ferry company)'s three biggest facilities: the 39th St. fetty terminal in Manhattan, their terminal at Port Imperial, and their dock/mantainance facilities near Lincoln Harbor (both Weehawken, NJ). And in Manhattan just north of the ferry terminal, Circle Line and a few other boating companies have facilities of their own.

Bottom line: the pilot couldn't have brought it down in a place more ready and able to provide quick assistance if he'd planned on it. And I don't think the geese left him much planning time.

[dkofos]

16. That's their job. It's why they get the big bucks.

[WilliamPitt]

21. Pilots make $25k a year.

Captains make a lot more, pilots not nearly so much.

[dkofos]

25. To start maybe.

[nadinbrzezinski]

68. Not any more, pilots are not making big bucks any longer

some pilots make 16K a year

[dkofos]

97. bullshit

American Airlines: 1st yr F/O: $31,080 and 10th yr Captain $123,420

Delta Airlines: 1st yr F/O: $50,400 and 10th yr Captain $204,636

UPS: 1st yr F/O: $26,004 and 10th yr Captain $200,508

Southwest: 1st yr F/O: $42,960 and 10th yr Captain $159,000

ATA: 1st yr F/O: $36,000 and 10th yr Captain $136,632

Airborne Express: 1st yr F/O $28,536 and 10th yr Captain $146,184

[nadinbrzezinski]

145. Whatever dude, I love civilized discussion

really

[LostinVA]

190. No, MANY make less that 16K a year, and aren't allowed to get foodstamps

As per an agreement they sign with the airline (it's too embarrassing). It isn't like the old days. They live with the horrible pay so, by the time they are 55-60, they can be making 100k+.

They aren't "Flight Officers" for quite a long time.

[Kajsa]

212. Most of those starting salaries

are lower than the starting salaries
for teachers, which are very low to begin with!

Not good.

:(

[Shakespeare]

77. No. It takes years and YEARS to get above $25-35K per year.

And most pilots just can't stick it out that long. I have friends who're pilots, and one went from being a hardcore republican to being a solid dem who is a rep in the pilot's union. He went from military to civilian/commercial, and was stunned at the way the industry is run.

[Patiod]

137. As a USAir frequent flyer, I want my flight crews happy

well-fed, well-rested and well-paid. All of them.

Some of the credit probably goes to the FAs as well - I want THEM happy, well-rested and well-paid, too! CEO/Drunk Dougie, though, can ESAD.

[DBoon]

30. Q. "How much should a pilot earn?"

A. When an engine stalls at 35,000 feet, you begin clearing out your bank account


This is why pilots SHOULD earn big bucks

[RoyGBiv]

115. Richard Pryor Theory ...

I have adopted the Richard Pryor theory for service from many professions, pilots being one of them.

As a part of his stand-up act he told the story of a plumber he hired, what they charged, and how people were always complaining about the high cost. He had a different opinion after his sewer backed up into his bathtub.

After the plumber had finished working, he came to Pryor all apologetic, beginning to explain the bill. Pryor stopped him and said, "Is there shit in the bathtub?"

"No."

"Here's your money."

With a pilot it's, "Did we land with me alive?"

"Yes."

"Here's your money."

[carlyhippy]

116. pilots should be making more than some auto execs

The people put their lives in the pilots hands every time they take off, auto execs sure aren't worth their pay

[Manifestor_of_Light]

146. Excerpt from STUPID WHITE MEN, by Michael Moore.

Copyright 2001.


Dow Wow Wow

As I'm sitting in a Michigan airport waiting for my American Airlines flight to Chicago, a man in a uniform sits down beside me and strikes up a conversation.

I learn that he is actually a pilot, for American Airlines-or more precisely American Eagle, the commuter airline of American Airlines, which like all commuters these days is now adding jets to its fleets for flights of under two hours. This saves the parent company lots of money, I guess.

The pilot who has approached me is not scheduled to fly the plane I'm on. He's hoping to grab an empty seat for the flight across Lake Michigan.

"Do you have to pay to fly if it's a personal trip?" I asked.

"No," he replied. "It's about the only fringe benefit we have."

He then revealed that the starting pay for a pilot at American Eagle was $16,800 a year.

"What?" I asked, sure that I had misheard the figure. "Sixteen grand per year?"

"That's right," the captain responded. "And that's high. At Delta's commuter airline, starting pay is $15,000 for a pilot; at Continental Express, it's around $13,000."

"Thirteen thousand ? For the captain of a commercial airliner? Are you messing with me?"

"No, I'm not messin' with anyone. It gets worse. That first year as a pilot, you have to pay for your own flight training and your own uniforms. After that's all deducted, you end up with about $9,000."

He paused so that could sink in. Then he added: "Gross. "

"I can't believe what I'm hearing." My voice was now getting to a level where others around us began listening in.

"Believe it," he assured me. "One of our pilots last month went down to the welfare office and applied for food stamps. No kidding. With four kids, at his level of pay as a pilot, he was legally eligible for assistance. The front office at American found out about this and sent out a memo that said no pilot was to apply for food stamps or welfare-even if they were eligible for it! Anyone who did apply would be let go.

"So now my buddy just goes down to the food bank on his way home. They don't ask for anything from you that would get back to American Airlines."

I thought I'd heard everything by now. But t-his story was beyond frightening. I did not want to get on that plane. You see, there's something about us humans and our basic animal instincts for survival-and one of those instincts, probably traceable back to the caveman days, is: Never, ever let someone fly you up in the air who's making less than the kid at Taco Bell.

I got on the plane, but only after I convinced myself the guy must have been feeding me a line. How else could I justify risking my life like that? The following week, though, I made some calls and did some research. Much to my horror, that pilot's figures were right. While captains who had been with these commuter airlines for a number of years were pulling in the big money ($40,000/year!), first-year rookies in many cases were living below the poverty level.

I don't know about you, but I want the people taking me with them to defy nature's most powerful force-gravity-to be happy, content, confident, and well paid. Even on the big jets for the major airlines, the flight attendants-another group of employees whose training may one day be critical to saving your life-start out at somewhere between $15,000 and $17,000 a year.
p52

If you don't want to take my word alone, then let me offer you some neutral, objective statistics about just how well those at the top are doing:

* From 1979 until now, the richest 1 percent in the country have seen their wages increase by 157 percent; those of you in the bottom 20 percent are actually making $100 less a year (adjusted for inflation) than you were at the dawn of the Reagan era.

* The world's richest two hundred companies have seen their profits grow by 362.4 percent since 1983; their combined sales are now higher than the combined gross domestic product of all but ten nations on earth.

* Since the recent mergers of the top four U.S. oil companies, their profits have soared by 146 percent- during what we were told was an "energy crisis."

* In the most recent year for which there are figures, forty-four of the top eighty-two companies in the United States did not pay the standard rate of 35 percent in taxes that corporations are expected to pay. In fact, 17 percent of them paid NO taxes at all-and seven of those, including General Motors, played the tax code like a harp, juggling business expenses and tax credits until the government actually owed them millions of dollars!

* Another 1,279 corporations with assets of $250 million or more also paid NO taxes and reported "no income" for 1995 (the most recent year for which statistics were available).
p54

Forbes magazine estimates that corporate tax shelters cost us average Americans over $10 billion dollars a year (and we have to make up the difference, by paying more taxes or by losing services). Next time you can't afford to fix the furnace or replace the computer, you can thank all those fat cats who've got you repeating the line "the economy isn't doing too well right now."
==========

[malaise]

22. Bravo to the pilots and crew

This was amazing. I'm listening to an eyewitness and he said the pilots brought it down as if it was a runway. An amazing emergency landing.

:toast: to the pilots and the rest of the flight crew.

[rvablue]

23. Twenty rounds of applause from me for that wonderful, brave professional! n/t

[ThomCat]

26. Wow! That's incredible! I hope everyone is okay!

:grouphug:

[WI_DEM]

27. No doubt about it. Great job.

[Oeditpus Rex]

29. I've been thinking this since I saw the pics

A water landing with power is precarious enough — it's quite easy to get the angle of attack just a few degrees too high and porpoise. I can't even imagine doing it with power loss.

:applause: :thumbsup:

[DinahMoeHum]

36. Saw a photo of passengers and crew on BOTH wings of the plane

shortly after it hit the water

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-01-15-plane-crash-hudson_N.htm

Luckily, this happened at the start of the rush hours in NYC when the ferries are at full blast.

Seems the aircrew did some seriously cool flying and landing to avert tragedy.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[jberryhill]

40. The passengers on the wing are normal for USAirways

US charges about $20 extra for in-cabin seating.

[BrklynLiberal]

54. :D

[Patiod]

138. In fact, don't they charge extra because of the add'l leg room?

:)

[ThisThreadIsSatire]

37. I'm in NYC and

our next ticker-tape parade should be for that pilot.

[awoke_in_2003]

219. You could always have one for the Giants...

oh, wait....

[helderheid]

41. absolutely!

[Fleshdancer]

42. I'm extremely impressed

Not only was the landing great, but the crew managed to make the escape orderly and the first responders were fast enough to keep most people from getting wet. Everyone did their jobs today and they did it very well.

[Gormy Cuss]

109. And that safety presentation at the beginning of every flight paid off too.

"In the unlikely event of a water landing" suddenly has new meaning to those on board that airbus.

I have the spiel memorized but I always review the seat card to remind myself of the way the doors operate and the placement of the exits.

[itsrobert]

45. Another good reason to buy American

Boeing it is.

[anigbrowl]

83. Yeah, because geese are attracted to Euro planes. fail.

[WilliamPitt]

96. I just peed.

:rofl:

[SoCalDem]

90. Not so sure about that.. the Airbus held together and floated quite well

:)

[MADem]

242. It's still floating today, at four PM a day after the accident.

One of the engines fell off, and they're trying to get it off the river bottom, but the thing is STILL afloat in the Hudson a day later.

[14thColony]

195. Name the last Boeing that was anything other than a submarine 2sec after a water landing

[awoke_in_2003]

220. While the person you are responding to...

doesn't quite have things straight, that plane didn't float the way it did due to superior engineering techniques. It floated because the captain put it in perfectly which, in turn, kept the fuselage intact. A degree higher or lower in pitch, or if had been banking slightly, and we would be telling an entirely different story.

[14thColony]

243. I know

it was just blatant counter-baiting. I get bored sometimes.

[awoke_in_2003]

244. Yeah, I understand...

it is like the pissing contest between Ford and Chevy P/U owners. We are in the process of having a new Boeing737 simulator installed. In two week they begin installing an A320 sim. So now I have to learn an entirely new cockpit (with Boeings, once you know the layout of one, the rest are layouted the same). In my business you can't afford to have bias, we look for what sims will generate the most money for us.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

246. It also floated because an A320 has a ditching switch.

You push a button on the overhead panel in the flight deck and openings on the fuselage close, like the pressurization system outflow valve. That way if the plane is still intact after ditching it will float long enough for the passengers to evacuate. So there was some superior engineering involved.

[awoke_in_2003]

249. In about 2 weeks...

I will probably start learning all about it- we are getting a new A320 sim. Same thing, though, can be done on a Boeing- but you would have to do it manually. Put the pressurization panel in manual, and turn a knob to close the pressure valve. Maybe Boeing (and other a/c manufacturers) will think about adding the ditch feature you describe.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

251. The A320 is a pretty good airplane.

The A330 is even cooler (it even adjusts its CG automatically in flight). The mechanism you describe on the Boeing airplanes (the older ones, anyhow) controls only the outflow valve -- the Airbus ditching switch closes all the holes on the lower part of the fuselage. Obviously that's a nice feature to have.

[awoke_in_2003]

252. Oh, I see, thanks for the info...

I have been in this business for 10 years- 6 in business jets (gulfstream, falcon, canadair, etc) and 4 in the bigger birds (Canadair RJs, Embraer RJs, and 737s). I am looking forward to learning the systems on a new bird. Not having a column in the way looks like it will make some maintenance a heck of a lot easier.

[Beetwasher]

46. Best. Pilot. Ever. And Let's Hear It For The Crew & Our FIRST RESPONDERS & FERRY CAPTAINS/CREWS!!

Amazing. Thank goodness!!!

[Algorem]

47. drunk bastard couldn't dodge a few CIA mechanical birds.

Breaking- Michael Connell bought tickets for that flight a month ago

they should update their hit list more frequently

[malaise]

48. Let's also hear it for the passengers who said

women and children first. :toast:

[awoke_in_2003]

221. Yes..

and also to the flight attendants who somehow managed to maintain an orderly evac.

[itsrobert]

223. I would be one of the first to say that

But why do we value women over men when it comes to lifesaving? I can understand children, but why women? Doesn't sound a little sexist?

[TorchTheWitch]

248. and gave some of their own clothing to those that weren't wearing enough

I was really impressed at the generosity of the passengers in helping each other out and looking after one another. I always figured in such a life or death situation survival instinct would kick in and the "every man for himself" attitude would prevail.

One of the passengers in the hospital went all the way into the water, and when he was fished out the pilot made him take off his wet shirt and gave him his own right off his back... the guy held it up and showed it to the camera during his in-hospital interview.

[WilliamPitt]

49. ALL PASSENGERS SAFE

:toast:

[Fleshdancer]

57. That is WONDERFUL news!

Right now there are thousands of family members and friends who are extremely grateful and relieved.

[awoke_in_2003]

226. Oh, I can tell you...

the tension was high. One of the women at work has a husband who flies commuter for that airline, and was taking off out of that airport yesterday. She was frantic until I was able to identify the airplane as a 320 and not a regional jet.

[WilliamPitt]

59. .

[FloridaJudy]

64. Yesss!

Kudos to the pilot and crew. Now that's a hero, folks!

[BrklynLiberal]

50. That was my first thought when I heard the plane was still intact..WHAT A GREAT PILOT!!!

[LSparkle]

53. AMEN! n/t

[XemaSab]

56. w00t!

:woohoo:

[Chicago1]

58. Good Job for the Pilot

Good for the Pilot. He did a great job!!!

IMPEACH GEORGE AND DICK.

[lildreamer316]

60. Wow. Can I request him/her for my next flight?

Nothing like a feeling of saftey..
Seriously, great stuff. Hope he gets some serious recognition and reward.

[The Straight Story]

61. Based on the rules I cannot celebrate him until I find out how he voted

I can only like like minded people ya know... :rofl:

[progressoid]

70. Oh No!

Goodness gracious, what if the pilot was a Republican?

:yoiks:

[The Straight Story]

73. Or worse, voted for Hillary

:hide:

[tinrobot]

62. Did the geese survive?

[WilliamPitt]

66. Um...

No.

[Shakespeare]

80. No, they became geese puree. n/t

[ecstatic]

106. There was more concern for the tigers at the SF zoo last year

than the poor geese. RIP my geese friends.

[roody]

147. Did it hit the whole flock?

[Danger Mouse]

128. Yes. Yes they did. It's going to be okay.

:hug:

[Fleshdancer]

63. Do we know his name yet?

It's people like this that should be propped up in our society...not Joe the Plumber. This pilot is a hero in my book, now I just wish I knew his name.

[TorchTheWitch]

129. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III

Can't recall his full name but they said he was known as "Sully".

On Edit: I thought it was Sullivan but I just found his full correct name.

[Ilsa]

65. Just consider: W* and Poppy would looked for a way to eject or bail.

It's what they were trained to do!

And I was thinking earlier about W*'s comment on 9-11: That's one really bad pilot.

[nadinbrzezinski]

67. to the pilot

KUDOS

And to the EMS and other emergency responders, also KUDOS

It takes gonads to get into that water to get people out...

[EconomicLiberal]

69. That pilot deserves a blowjob a day for the rest of his life! n/t

[WilliamPitt]

74. What if the pilot is a woman?

I'd volunteer to deliver her reward.

OM NOM NOM HERE COMES ANOTHER SAFE LANDING OM NOM NOM NOM

;)

[EconomicLiberal]

78. I'd volunteer too.

:)

[TahitiNut]

79. HHhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

:evilgrin:

[WilliamPitt]

81. OM NOM NOM LANDING GEAR DEPLOYED OM NOM NOM NOM

:P

[EraOfResponsibility]

126. oooooh you are nastaaaay lol

[johnnie]

71. Fucking great airmanship!

I like the interview with the one passenger:

Newsdude: "How was the landing?"

Passenger: "Scary as shit!"

[pamela]

75. He probably averted a war.

If that plane had hit a building, Bush would have probably bombed a country this weekend.

[WilliamPitt]

76. Ballistic feather pillows from Canada

This agression will not stand. Montreal is being carpet-bombed with Tempurpedic mattress pads.

[MrCoffee]

82. Hear Hear!

all passengers safe.

[JNelson6563]

85. Talk about grace under pressure!

Amazing! What a hero! :toast:

Julie

[Rosa Luxemburg]

86. I wanna hire him!

[StreetKnowledge]

88. Incredible Work by everybody involved.

An Airbus with 150 people aboard lands in the Hudson and nobody is killed! That pilot deserves a medal, and those rescuers deserve a big thumbs up.

Excellent work, guys.

:fistbump:

[Ghost Dog]

91. So, no KUDOS here for the Airbus airframe and

controllability in an engineless glide situation such as this?

[peacetalksforall]

92. Here' s my kudo. Yeah Airbus!

[ecstatic]

108. They definitely deserve props too! nt

[LostinVA]

201. I actually said that to Haruka last night while we were watching the news

"Good thing he was flying an Airbus."

[babylonsister]

94. "flying into a shitshow before Canada intervened with ballistic feather pillows."

:rofl: I love the way you write-so descriptive!

[FiveGoodMen]

95. No shit!

:applause: :bounce: :headbang:

[Missy Vixen]

98. Dude RAWKS

What kind of balls o' steel does it take to pull this one off? One hundred fifty five people go home to their families tonight because of a pilot that could make the correct split-second decision.

:loveya:
:toast:
Julie

[valerief]

99. Where are those MagLev trains these skilled pilots should be driving instead?

[Rockholm]

101. Great job...a true hero!

[DrZeeLit]

103. Brave! Fearless! AND.. he totally hijacked W's farewell tour farewell speech. YIPPPPEEE!

Seriously, that pilot is a walking miracle... I heard Bloomberg say that the pilot walked the plane 3 times to make sure everyone was out. Jeez, that must have been scary!

Poor Georgie... can't cop a break, let alone a feel.
Farewell Speech? What Farewell Speech?
We want the Pilot!
We want the Pilot!

(or is he a Plane Driver?)

[WilliamPitt]

107. "(or is he a Plane Driver?)"

*snerk*

:yourock:

[malaise]

111. You're in great spirits

Bush must be leaving.

Here's a nice link for you.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0115093hero1.html

[WilliamPitt]

112. Wow.

He looks like "The Right Stuff" personified.

Exellent. :)

[malaise]

175. And he was Chairman of the Pilots' Union Safety

Committee - that sure is the right stuff!!

Unions and city governments don't do enough to celebrate their value and worth.

[Historic NY]

140. The Captain always goes down with his ship & is the last one off.

"Sully" did good, real good.:patriot:

[Aviation Pro]

104. Absolutely.....

...he did everything right. Got the plane to just above stall speed, left the gear up and absorbed the force of the impact at the empennage first. Also to be commended is the cabin crew that got everyone off the plane without a single person going in the water.

Congratulations to the remarkable airmanship and leadership of the entire crew.

[Jefferson23]

110. Incredible, and maybe this pilot should fly Air Force 1 for Obama.

[renate]

171. that's true

Wouldn't that be wonderful?

My son was asking whether this pilot would get a reward... he was thinking cash, but wouldn't an assignment to Air Force One be a treat?

[14thColony]

196. Of course he'd have to re-join the Air Force to do that

[cpamomfromtexas]

207. He will get the Daedalian Award Next Year

[relayerbob]

114. Spectacular!!!!!!

[liberal N proud]

117. I will fly with him any day

Heroics.

They said he walked plane twice and was the last one off the plane.

[KoKo]

118. Damned Straight! One "MIGHTY AWESOME PILOT!" A true HERO!

:kick:

[DWilliamsamh]

119. "Balistic feather pillows..." THAT was funny! Thanks

And kudos to the pilot!

[Faygo Kid]

120. No youngster, either. Props (!) to an older worker.

That guy demonstrates that you don't lose it when you're older.

At least, the work part of it.

[truebrit71]

121. No doubt...I still cannot believe everyone got off more or less in one piece...

...amazing piece of flying...

[Cha]

122. That's what we talked about

at work tonight..what a miracle and a very skilled pilot.

I flew at Thanksgiving time and always thanked my pilot..this one gets an extra special thanks!

[2Design]

124. incredible - absolutely talented and great ferries to make it come off perfect n/t

[DallasNE]

127. There Have Been A Number Of Remarkable Landings

This one may be the very best of all but here are some other remarkable stories.

The plane in California that had the front landing gear down but with the wheels turned 90 degrees. Somehow that pilot managed to keep the front gear from snapping and scattering the plane all over the airfield. There we no injuries.

The United 747 out of Hawaii that had a cargo door blow out, pulling about a dozen passenger seats with it. The pilot got that depressurized plane down rapidly and was able to return to the airport and land without losing any more people. This one I especially remember because I was on that very same flight 24-hours earlier.

The DC10 that lost all navigation control. All the pilot could do was adjust engine thrust to turn and guide the plane. He attempted to bring that plane down in Sioux City, Iowa. The plane broke up on landing but over 100 people came out alive.

I'm sure there are more but these are notible examples of incredible flying skills by the pilots invovled.

[WilliamPitt]

132. They were talking about one

where the cabin roof somehow tore off mid-flight at 14,000 feet. One flight attendant got sucked out and was killed, but that was it. The pilot got the convertible plane down with nobody else killed. Outrageous.

[jberryhill]

135. Aloha Air

Aloha means "Hello" and "Goodbye".

[DallasNE]

156. After You Brought It Up

I remember that flight too. Below are links to the 3 flights I mentioned in my original post.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232 - Sioux City landing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_811 - Hawaii landing

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Jet_Blue_airliner_lands_with_broken_nose_gear - California landing

[Ken Burch]

130. Here's to the pilot..and also, to the incredibly fast-thinking flight crew

The flight attendants had to work in what must have been a matter of seconds to get control of the situation within the cabin, making sure everyone was in life-preservers and getting them out of the cabin onto the rescue chutes without opening too many doors and thus causing the plane to flood and drown everyone inside.

They deserve as much credit for what they did in that situation as the pilot did at the controls. All were great heroes.

[malaise]

245. True but the flight attendants and the rest of the great team of

rescue personnel would not have had too many people to rescue if that aircraft had broken up and sank on ditching.

[ewagner]

131. Way to go Cap'n!

:toast:

:woohoo: :bounce: :bounce: :woohoo:

:fistbump:


He was the last person off after he walked the aisles TWICE!!! to make sure all his passengers got out!!!

THAT MY FRIENDS IS CHARACTER!!!


:toast:

[TorchTheWitch]

250. and gave the shirt right off his back to one of the wet passengers!

The Today Show interviewed him in the hospital, and he held up the pilot's shirt to show. In the first interview with him when he was in the hospital still wrapped up in blankets or some kind of special thermal blanket for hyopothermia, he was still wearing the shirt and pulled the blanket down to show the sleeve stripes. He was one of the first passengers off and jumped right into the water to swim to a raft, so he got a head to toe soaking. When the pilot found him drenched, he made him take off his wet shirt and gave him his own right off his own back to wear.

One of the other passengers in an interview said that there was water about waist deep in the plane, so that pilot walked the plane twice in 40 degree cold water that high, too! And it's no easy thing to walk in water that high either regardless of how cold.

I'm so immpressed with this pilot!

[AnnieBW]

133. The pilot and the flight attendants

who got 150 people off of that plane in 90 seconds.

Bravo to all of them!

:grouphug: :fistbump: :yourock: :applause:

[quiet.american]

134. A man of amazing judgment and skill. I bow to him.

:fistbump: :yourock: :woohoo: :applause: :patriot: :toast:

[all.of.me]

141. k&r

[jwirr]

142. Thankfully there was a good man in the right place when he was needed, nt

[Sheets of Easter]

143. Whatever. He was just doing what he's paid to do.

:P


Of course, I'm making reference to another thread.

That pilot was an ace. It's good to hear stories like this. And cheers to the responders as well. They had the passengers out within 90 seconds!

[cpamomfromtexas]

208. I agree, this is the first thread I've ever seen on DU that celebrates pilots

Every other time I've always seen them described as overpaid, spoiled simpletons, and usually the thread is signed by a trucker.

I wonder how many people would have wanted a trucker flying that thing.

Oh and by the way, there was another pilot in the cockpit too, his title is First Officer.

[pitchforksandtorches]

144. It was Bill Clinton's fault

eom

[mt13]

150. wow...

just wow!

:thumbsup:

K&R

[cpamomfromtexas]

152. I've been waiting for someone to mention this on the TEEVEE

US Air execs TOOK AWAY THE PILOTS PENSIONS. That's right- but have you heard jack on the television?

EVERY PILOT IN THE US SHOULD HAVE STRUCK OVER THAT BECAUSE ALL THE AIRLINES ARE BUSTING A HUMP TO DO IT TO ALL THE OTHER PILOTS. AFTER ALL, MANAGEMENT THINKS THEY ARE JUST "COST UNITS".

[HughMoran]

154. An amazing story that'll be talked about for years to come

I'm so glad that nobody was seriously hurt.

I'm not a hero worshipper, but this pilot gets Superman status in my book.

[BrightKnight]

155. deserves Something like a civilian Distinguished Service Medal

There should be a way to honor someone that does something like that.

He brought a passenger jet down safely in the Hudson River with no engines. Then he walked the cabin twice to assure that else was off.

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

159. This is the pilot's job....

I am a pilot.

The pilot did his job, and what he was trained to do. You should expect that any pilot in the same position, would work their hardest for the same outcome, and most pilots have that trainig drilled, until their responses are more automatic....keep in mind they are flying in the plane too....when they put him in a hotel room tonight, he will shit his pants when he starts to think of all the variations of what could have happened...but his training kept his mind cool, which allowed for cool decisions...

Airplanes don't just fall out of the sky when you only turn the engines off....you have to point them (angle them) toward the ground, to keep your airspeed up and allow control, but they still fly...take away control surfaces, and the story is different....his control surfaces were removed when he hit the water, but by that time, they were no longer needed.

While the pilot is taking off, he is constantly monitoring his environment, and aware of the safest place, and method to put it down, given his altitude at that time. During my initial flight training my instructor would always surprise me with emergencies, especially if he thought i was complacent, or not paying attention: Engine out!, Door pops open! Plane taxis on runway in the middle of landing! that type of training/response never stops.....

Just to keep this political....Fuck GWB, the non-pilot!!! I don't think he ever tuly flew on his own, and never flew once he left the service...a few more days and our country will be a better nation!!!

[bluedawg12]

160. Yup! Love good news like that! Uplifting.

:fistbump:

[Arugula Latte]

241. Never thought a plummeting plane story would be "uplifting" -- but this one is!

:toast:

[XOKCowboy]

161. Here's to Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger

You are my hero sir. :toast:

[XOKCowboy]

162. and the rest of the crew of course.

Really the only water landing in commercial aviation history where all survived? All were heroes.

[bridgit]

163. You got it Pope Willy! And I do say kudos to the pilot & crew & rapid response rescue teams

Some of the responses from, ahem, DUers (I guess :shrug:) are genuinely strange imo; +/- 65,000 bird strikes to aircraft each year or 1 per every 10,000 may not seen allot

:wow:

Until you're on that particular flight then the numbers don't really matter

[defendandprotect]

164. He should be flying Air Force One after that . . . !!!

[Cetacea]

165. A toast: May it be true that the Tides are Turning.

And good work all around from the pilot to the ferry boat operators whose quick actions saved a lot of people who were a couple of minutes from that dark night.:toast:

[SusanaMontana41]

166. A bona fide hero

for a new year.

Is it just me, or did this happy ending make y'all forget about the lousy economy for a while?

[Norrin Radd]

167. Nice to see a happy ending.

[SpartanDem]

169. way to go Sully!!

[JDPriestly]

170. From the information we have thus far, this pilot did an amazing job.

[The Wielding Truth]

172. It gives us faith, again, that Americans can do things right!

[mmonk]

176. Clear, quick, and lucid thinking in a time of crisis. He is a hero.

[Trogus]

177. wow

A truly heroic man. Heres a link to the guardian site, with a picture of the man himself

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/17/hudson-plane-crash-pilot-sullenberger

[GliderGuider]

178. The pilot was also a glider instructor, which probably factored into his success

From Avweb:

Flight 1549 Pilot a Glider Instructor

The pilot who guided a US Airways A320 to arguably the most successful airliner ditching in history on Thursday would appear to be well drilled in deadstick landings. Capt. Chelsey Burnett Sullenberger III holds commercial and instructor glider ratings, along with ground instructor, single engine and muli-engine instructor ratings, according to the FAA's airman certificate database. He does not have a float rating, however. Sullenberger is being hailed a hero for putting the airliner, with a total of 155 people on board, into the river without any fatalities after the aircraft reportedly lost both engines to multiple bird strikes. The most serious injuries appear to be broken bones, although at least half of those on board were treated for hypothermia after being dunked in the 40-degree water in air temperatures hovering around 20 degrees. "It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river, and then making sure that everybody got out," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters.

According to FlightAware Flight 1549 was climbing northbound after taking off from La Guardia Airport for Charlotte, N.C. and was at 3,200 feet when it made a descending turn south to the river. Witnesses told various media outlets the airliner made a controlled descent to the river and doors and emergency chutes deployed immediately afterward. Passengers were quoted as saying at least one engine exploded and caught fire and that they were warned to brace for a hard impact. Passing commuter ferries were on the scene quickly to pick up passengers and it was reported that women and children were the first to be taken off the sinking airliner. Bloomberg said Sullenberger inspected the interior of the airliner twice to ensure everyone got off.

He walked the cabin twice to ensure everyone had gotten out. The man is a true hero.

[Barack_America]

184. How fortunate everybody was that he happened to be at the helm.

Remarkable.

[lonestarnot]

179. If ever there was a man who deserves a golden parachute, it would be Sully!

Bravo dude! :applause: Bravo!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

180. THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is what BADASS looks like.

[Best_man23]

181. All I can say is Sully flies Sierra Hotel

This man is a hero, period.

Sully, this one's for you.

[bdamomma]

182. Great piloting and great thinking.

to save 150 people.

[4_TN_TITANS]

183. That's what happens

when a bona-fide professional is at the helm.

[Barack_America]

189. From the accounts, he seems to be a true intellectual of aviation.

Wonder if he could be recruited into public service?

[bobd0]

186. That really was some flocking landing.

Kudos to the pilot, crew, passengers, rescuers, airplane manufacturer, emergency personnel, the flocking geese -- I mean, who knows? If that plane hadn't hit those geese and landed relatively safely in the middle of the Hudson River just off midtown something more tragic could have happened later in the flight.

[Soylent Brice]

188. rec 100

the dude is friggin han solo navigating the asteroid field.

[crispini]

191. I'll K&R that.

A wonderful story.

[LostinVA]

192. The local Fox news out of NYC had some incredible footage and stories

It's a major fluff newscast, which is why we like it (American Idol talk, etc.). They devoted about the whole 30 minutes to this story. Incredible! Kudos especially to:

-- Captain Scully! The pilot walked up and down the aisles twice to make sure everyone was out before he himself left -- he executed a textbook landing, made sure everyone was safely out, and searched the plane TWICE as it was floating in the Hudson.

-- The underpaid FAs. The passengers say all five were incredible.

-- The passengers. For not freaking out and for how everyone helped everyone else/

-- All the people on the water. A commuter ferry from NJ was there IMMEDIATELY tossing life jackets and helping people. Other commuter ferries, the Circle Lin tourist boats, the USCG, ordinary boaters, etc. Their quick action helped save lives and kept the incidents of hypothermia down to a minimum.

-- The people of NYC and NJ, for opening up their restaurants and hotels to the passengers who were flying back to NC. And, I don't know what cell phone company, but one of them gave all the surviving out of area passengers phones to use.

[blondeatlast]

193. Indeed. About time we got to celebrate bravery which has been in very short supply the last 8 years.

[underpants]

194. Calm cool and professional

"Sully" did great

[Clear Blue Sky]

197. I heard he was 67 yo

Experience has value. Shame to force retirement on the most experienced in our workforce.

[Liberal In Texas]

211. He's 57. I'm pretty sure they don't let you fly anymore at 67.

Gray haired competent looking guy you always like to see walking on to an airplane.

[Historic NY]

198. Imagine the pucker factor on Flight 236 over the Azoes in 2001.

Imagine the pucker factor of the Azores flight Aug. 24, 2001, 291 passengers and 13 crew members was flying at a cruising altitude of 39,000 feet in the midddle of no where at night. the pilot had to hit that small island.

http://natgeochannel.co.uk/programmes/air-crash-investi...

The plane ran out of fuel in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

http://www.iasa.com.au/folders/images/airtransat/Fuello...

[npincus]

200. he is a HERO...

hubby rolled his eyes when I said this, but I feel like this incident is a metaphor for what happens when you have a calm, competent, knoweldgable managing a potential catastrophe, that a positive outcome is possible. (Pilot Sully= President Obama)

[hamsterjill]

202. What a guy!!!! What a guy!!!!

As someone who just begrudingly turned 50, I'm truly inspired that this "old guy" (reports indicate he's 57) was so awesome!!!

His experience, I'm sure, was a major factor in his ability to keep his passengers safe.

My hat's off to this gentleman and his crew for their heroic, unselfish, and just plain "cool" handling of what could have been a complete disaster.

[Balderdash]

203. K&R

Regular people make the best hero's. FEMA and Bush could take a lesson.
I survived Katrina mostly because of Red Cross volunteers and just
everyday hero's, people reaching out to other people from the largese
of their hearts. I watched NYers running toward the scary stuff not away.
Braving the frigid temperatures to pull strangers out of harms way. That
pilot is a hero as are the everyday people, some on the plane and some
outside the plane. Like a well oiled machine, we are, when we least
expect it, a truly courageous and loving species.

[Lucky 13]

204. I read that he walked the plane twice to make sure everyone was out before leaving himself...

This guy is a true hero and I hope he gets some major recognition. He not only saved the lives of all 150 people on board, but probably thousands of New Yorkers on the ground.

:patriot:

[October]

205. Indeed! Bravo!

Former "stew" here, married to an Airbus pilot.

We are majorly impressed with this USAir Captain and crew!!!

[bobd0]

206. I hope this is a good omen for the Obama administration.

A brilliant pilot guides us out of danger and into a safe landing.

[Bluzmann57]

213. Damn right!

And he's a Union man as well. Just goes to show you that Union people are better trained and safer than non union people as a rule.

[earcandle]

214. It does my heart good to see Americans being Americans!

And, in my opinion, New York Americans are damn good
representatives of our our values.  I am so glad this was a
bird event, and not a staged terror event.  And I am grateful
to see how the ferries all showed up even before the police. 
Anybody see FEMA out there?  I didn't hear mention of them. 
(but I haven't read through this long series of post yet, so
if they are already mentioned, forgive me.  I will read
through!) 

[Kajsa]

215. He is incredibly skilled and calm.

That landing was incredible, so much could have gone
wrong, yet EVERYONE survived!

Without a doubt, he should be up for a big promotion
and raise after this.

THIS is who you want flying your plane.

:toast:

[Locrian]

222. cool

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0115093hero1.html

[havocmom]

224. and for the other responders, support personnel, and the lessons they all taught!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4841780&mesg_id=4841780

[Arugula Latte]

225. That guy is one cool cucumber.

My hat is off to you, Sir. :patriot:

[Sugar Smack]

227. Astounding grace under pressure. It's hard to wrap your mind around it.

Here's to everyone on that plane. :yourock:

[Sequoia]

228. Let's not forget the co-pilot, first officer and crew either.

Without them it wouldn't have been a successful landing. It helped that the captain was a glider pilot also. That sure came in handy. And....he's from California. Danville, near San Francisco.

[bmbmd]

232. Not to brag or anything, but turns out

he is a graduate of good old Denison High School. Class of 69.

http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/News/A1-PIC-Denison-native-pilot-called-a-hero-on-the-Hudson

[Sequoia]

233. I see he was in the school band. What instrument did he play?

It's amazing how he avoided the river traffic. There's so many boats in the Hudson. A funny thing...my SO told me that one passenger thought he heard the pilot say.."We're going for a hard landing embrace yourself". So he hugged himself. Damn that was funny.

[wryter2000]

230. Where do I sign up to fly with Sullenberger Airlines?

Awesome job. And kudos to everyone, including the rest of the crew, the passengers, and the great folks who performed the rescue out of the river.

[Roland99]

234. The Airbus itself gave him some great assistance: the Ditch Button

It apparently seals outflow valves and such (I'm FAR from an avionics expert...just regurgitating what I saw on the news) that helped keep the fuselage afloat longer (and thank goodness no one opened that rear exit door!!)

[nichomachus]

235. And let's not forget a big cheer to Lady Luck

Sullenberger did a fantastic job -- as did all the other rescuers - but luck played an incredible role.

That area of the Hudson, especially at that time of day, is as busy as any freeway, with helicopters, small planes, tugs, ferries, and assorted other watercraft all over the place. To be able to put a jetliner down into that without hitting anything required not only skill, but tremendous luck. All you would have needed was a string of barges in the middle of the river or an unwary helicopter taking off from one of the heliports along the Hudson, and it would have been a different outcome.

I'm not taking anything away from Sullenberger, but he had a lot of luck, as well as a lot of skill.

[jobycom]

237. Now offering shuttle service from LaGuardia to Lower Manhattan.

Freaking amazing piloting and decision-making, and not a small task by the ferry and boaters who rushed to the scene. Lots of lives saved by lots of people, and one helluva pilot.

[Joey Liberal]

238. Him and his crew are great! nt

[TheKentuckian]

253. Hell of a job and about as impressive were the crew and passengers

emptying a plane in under 2 minutes is nothing to sneeze at.