What a Hero (US Airways Flight 1549)

[Barry]

What a Hero that pilot is ( A Brit, if I might add) ?

To bring that plane down safely into the Hudson River and then to go back again to make sure his passengers were removed to safety.

At the same time I have to applaud the rescue crews there who did a remarkable job.

I hate flying and you must know how long it takes from England to Hawaii.

When I insist on sitting on the black box (incidentally it is bright orange). It is the first thing they look for after a crash and I want to be assured that at least my butt gets a decent burial..

Nevertheless, I would chose to fly with that pilot anytime.

[Vanguard]

That was truly a Miracle on the Hudson. Despite the bad things that happened, everyone survived. Kudos to the pilot, and all the emergency personnel who took part.

[legal_secretary_in_mtl]

Very true and I concur with everyone so far. Amazing how one can even survive this kind of tragedy... it's a miracle for sure !

p.s. now we know what in inflated lifevest looks like.. hehe... looks like its choaking people.... never EVER want to have to use one...

[matapule]

And the pilot is an old dude too! Old tepilo (farts) rule! (smirk, smirk) Well done, Capt. Sully.

[Barry]

Can I change my post? To get facts straight. I was told on the news that Sully was a Brit but found out later that he is in fact a US of A citizen and did some training here.
Goes to show that you can't believe all you hear on the news. Yet wherever he came from or was trained, he is still a hero in my book.

[timkona]

I think, in pilot vernacular, that would be referred to a "a damn good landing".

Correct me if I'm wrong.

[tutusue]

An absolutely amazing event. So many heros but Cap'n Sully is at the top of the list. I love the story I heard this morning about the man, sitting next to a woman holding a 9 month old baby, who stayed calm and asked the mom if he could protect the baby for her. She agreed.

A passenger, recounting his experience on the Today Show this morning, overheard the co-pilot tell Sully, "You know, Sully, no one's ever had a successful ditch before. You pulled it off".

[LikaNui]

I think, in pilot vernacular, that would be referred to a "a damn good landing". Correct me if I'm wrong.

You're not wrong, but not exactly right, Tim, cuz you only got part of it. The actual quote is "Any landing that you survive is a damned good landing."
Zillions of kudos to Captain Sully. I hear that witness accounts and the cockpit tapes show that he stayed 100% cool and calm, even after takeoff and before, during and after the water landing. (But can you imagine his adrenaline rush afterwards?!) I'm sure we'll see him on many TV shows very soon.
Kudos also to the flight attendant crew, who had the sense to remember their training to not open the rear doors. If they had, the jet would've sunk almost instantly and the survival rate would've been almost nil.

[leashlaws]

That Captain is a true saint and hero! Amazing amazing amazing! He walked the full length of the plane twice to check for passengers before getting out himself, truly adhering to the captain is the last man off.

Here is a nice article about him. Whether you like Glenn Beck or not this is really good.
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/art...cle/198/20288/

I loved the last sentences about the coffee shop.

Bravo the the Captain Sully!

[Kalalau]

We were with friends for dinner last night, watching coverage of the crash. And to tell you the truth we were all a little teary eyed. Why? Well because everybody got out alive. And the wonderful response of the New Yorkers to the crisis--ferry boats and water taxis rushing to the rescue! And hospitals all on the alert, but virtually unneeded. We needed this, friends--a victory for our human brothers and sisters over the only real enemy. After so much bad news, this has been very much of a lift! And it does kind of show the common bond of human affection. We will probably never know or ever meet any of the survivors, yet their survival means a great deal to us all. All over the world people are rejoicing over this. Indeed, we are all one.

[helen]

Besides the pilot's skill in landing the plane there were other factors that favored towards the passengers and crew surviving the crash, two of which of were landing the plane in the river (no rough seas or waves) and kind of close to the boats and ferries in the river which responded quickly to the event.

[oggboy]

Hero indeed!, flt.1549 The hero indeed. Just like Aloha ftl. 243 Incredible Pilots. Thank God, they where awake

[tutusue]

Well said, Kalalau...well said.

[1stwahine]

Kalalau,

You brought tears to my eyes as well.

Mahalo,

Auntie Lynn

[Kalalau]

Thank you for your kindness.

[tutusue]

A BBC interview with one of the first people who posted a photo of the scene on Twitter via his iPhone...

[Composite 2992]

Hero indeed!, flt.1549 The hero indeed. Just like Aloha ftl. 243 Incredible Pilots. Thank God, they where awake

Aloha 243 was a bigger miracle in my opinion: Capt. Robert Schornstheimer and First Officer Mimi Tompkins had a plane with much of its fuselage suddenly missing and managed to land it in Maui.

Veteran flight attendant CB Lansing was lost when she was blown out of the exploding cabin.

In simulations at Boeing no other flight crew were able to land the aircraft.

I had the honor of meeting Tompkins and she was very humble about it.

Another power-out landing: Air Canada flt 143. Capt. Bob Pearson and FO Maurice Quintal. The aircraft had a total flameout (someone miscalculated fuel when converting pounds to kilograms) and the captain, an experienced glider pilot, dead-sticked it to an old airfield turned into a dragstrip. The front gear collpased but everyone came through unscathed.

These are the sort of situations where pilots really earn their pay. It's not the day to day flying, but their ability to deal with adversity and make it through. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of stories like this. Both in peacetime and in war. They somehow manage to bring back their crews and passengers when conditions turn unfriendly and the odds are against them.

As for the rest who can't stay awake. Well, they don't belong there. Go get a job cleaning restrooms.

[Adri]

He does seem to be treating it as just part of his job. It seems like he really doesn't want a lot of the attention this brought to him. Poor guy, I'm sure he would rather not have had his entire educational record and IQ scores released to Foxnews.

[Random]

He does seem to be treating it as just part of his job. It seems like he really doesn't want a lot of the attention this brought to him. Poor guy, I'm sure he would rather not have had his entire educational record and IQ scores released to Foxnews.

Actually, I'm waiting to see if FOX news have any record of how many women he slept with. I mean for gawd sake, he's a pilot. Who wouldn't want to sleep with a pilot?

[Leo Lakio]

It seems like he really doesn't want a lot of the attention this brought to him.

Well, his union has also requested that he not make himself available to the media while there is an ongoing NTSB investigation, and he has deferred to their request.