Off Topic: Amazing Water Landing on the Hudson

Not just "everybody survived" but so far it looks like only one seriously injured.

No matter what that pilot gets paid, he deserves a raise.

I saw it - I saw the ferry there but where was homeland defense ???

Zodiac boats ?? Machine guns ?? was this a threat or was it revenge ?

Where was the 'home guard' ? I see the latest - post rescue some showed up - but really.....

Mart> I know that everyone is using the word miracle. But this Sully guy, the

On Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:41:24 -0500, J. Clarke cast forth these pearls of wisdom...:

And even at that - it depends on how you define "seriously". It would be easy to consider a broken bone to be less than serious - especially under the circumstances.

Equally impressive was the instant response of boats on the water to get to the plane to rescue the passengers.

"Mark & Juanita" wrote

I liked that. First all the commercial craft shows up. Then the gubmint boats show up later. Just goes to show that in an emergency, whoever is closest is the first responder. And can perform valuable services to the victims.

You have to admit, in case of a water landing, you couldn't get much better emergency services than on the Hudson river. It is well serviced by numerous agencies with impressive training, watercraft, helicopters, etc.

I get a kick out of those pictures of the people standing on the wing. They look like they are standing on the water. A little bit of walk on water magic there.

But it looked awfully cold out there. I wouldn't want to be standing around in that water, in that weather, for very long.

The reason they had to wait is they did not have the exact change to get on to the rescue ferry.

I did hear on the news that the ferry crews train for water rescue. It was a good idea.

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in news:I3_bl.18560$ snipped-for-privacy@nlpi067.nbdc.sbc.com:

The plane landed fairly close to the ferry terminals on either side of the Hudson, and I heard the chief of the NY Waterways company (private entity) explain how much they train for emergency work. My hat off and a salute to those guys!

The air was 30F or less, the water 41F. There was not too much of a breeze yesterday. All in all the conditions could very easily have been much worse. However, Captain Sully did an absolutely marvelous job putting the plane there so gently. Next time I fly, I hope he, or someone equally capable is at the controls.

I'm impressed! It was an amazing demonstration of of piloting skill, experience, and judgment all coming together to produce the best of outcomes from a very difficult situation.

Cudos to the entire flight crew - they exercised courage and kept their cool when that was of paramount importance, and (it would appear) did a magnificent job of helping the passengers keep theirs.

Cudos, also, to the ferry captains (and their crews!) for their quick response - and to the ferry management that made the decision to have their crews train for this eventuality.

Every time I hear the safety speech about "in the event of a water landing... blah blah blah" I think to my self, "yeah, 'in the event', kiss your butt goodbye". I guess I was selling the professionals short. Never again.

jc

Apparently a lot of pilots felt the same way. This incident has changed some minds. They now know it is possible.

Still, a lot of luck played into this. The location, time of day, etc But that does not in any way discount what a tremendous job was done by the pilot.

Hmm - not only did I manage to mis-spell "Kudos" twice, I took for granted the folks who designed and built the Airbus that didn't lose its structural integrity in the water landing. Methinks they deserve praise, as well.

"Morris Dovey" wrote

They have a "ditch switch" that seals all openings on the belly of the aircraft. This allows them to stay afloat longer in case of a "water landing". That is some good thinking/engineering.

And the Airbus folks were very impressed with the landing as well. They had good things to say about the pilot.

I thought Airbus jet planes were "fly-by-wire", and since both main engines were out there must have been power from batteries or an APU to operate the control surfaces?

Exactly. He had a limited offering of options, and chose the one that worked. Kept his cool under pressure.

A wheelbarrow for his brass balls.

He's 57 years old. In three years, due to FAA ruling, he'll be retired. What a shame, all that valuable experience offline because he's 60. My dad was a commercial pilot and started in the biz before the FAA came into being...he had a lot of gripes about the agency, but the biggest was the mandatory retirement age. And that was 40-odd years ago. Put yourself in the cabin and answer this: Who do I want flying me around in this death-trap?

Great job by all concerned!

cg

Perhaps if some of us mentioned that to our congressman or senator?

Exactly. He had a limited offering of options, and chose the one that worked. Kept his cool under pressure.

A wheelbarrow for his brass balls.

Typical Texas boy. :~)

Someone will make him a trainer. Then there's the lecture circuit.

But with the book deal and movie rights, he'll never *have* to work another day, the rest of his life.

using the word miracle. But this Sully guy, the

My friend, as a pilot, I can tell you that "water landing" is just a euphemism for "crash".

Hitting the water at airline speeds is like hitting reinforced concrete.

Yes, the pilot did a great job.

He followed his training.

That, coupled with his considerable experience, saved lives.

The water temp alone was more than enough to kill everyone aboard.