Miracle on the HudsonIf you were boarding an airliner, and you had even the slightest notion that the plane might incur a freak accident, (numerous large birds in the path of the jet engines), within minutes after take-off, the one man you would want in the pilots seat would be Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III.
From the Smoking Gun:
JANUARY 15--Meet Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III, the US Airways pilot who today amazingly crash-landed a US Airways jet in New York's Hudson River without any apparent fatalities. The heroic Sullenberger, 57, has worked for US Airways since 1980, and before that spent more than six years as a U.S. Air Force F-4 fighter pilot. Sullenberger, who now must be considered the front runner to replace Hillary Clinton as New York's junior United States Senator, is also the founder of Safety Reliability Methods. The firm describes itself as providing "technical expertise and strategic vision and direction to improve safety and reliability in a variety of high risk industries." Business should soon be booming. Click here to revel in Sullenberger's brilliance and professionalism, as detailed in the veteran pilot's resume. Expect his "executive career highlights" to be updated shortly..........LINK
Miracle #1:
Now I am not a pilot, but I can tell you with certainty that when a pilot incurs a "dead stick" on a 93,000 pound airliner, there are few options, and even fewer chances for passenger survival when setting down an aircraft on water. Air speed at impact is as critical as the position of the plane when touching down. Early reports are that "Sully" mastered the near perfect air speed while setting the tail of the airliner into the water softly enough to allow the belly of the plane to gently splash into the near freezing temperatures of the Hudson River without literally tearing the structure apart. The estimated air speed at impact was still around 100-130 mph when the plane hit the water. If the nose of the plane, or even the tip of a wing had hit before the tail dragged through the water, (further slowing down the planes impact speed), the structure would have certainly broken into several pieces insuring instant fatalities and most likely no survivors. Very few pilots in the world could have pulled off this textbook landing even if they could attempt the maneuver a hundred times. Only Sully knew the extent of the "dead stick" and his quick judgment to set the plane in the Hudson was his only option for the fewest number of fatalities. The fact that the combined acts of this pilot and the response time of those nearby, (and the first responders of rescue crews), was miracle #2. Miracle number three is simple; God was with all of these souls on this day and for this we can all be thankful.
From the Smoking Gun:
JANUARY 15--Meet Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, III, the US Airways pilot who today amazingly crash-landed a US Airways jet in New York's Hudson River without any apparent fatalities. The heroic Sullenberger, 57, has worked for US Airways since 1980, and before that spent more than six years as a U.S. Air Force F-4 fighter pilot. Sullenberger, who now must be considered the front runner to replace Hillary Clinton as New York's junior United States Senator, is also the founder of Safety Reliability Methods. The firm describes itself as providing "technical expertise and strategic vision and direction to improve safety and reliability in a variety of high risk industries." Business should soon be booming. Click here to revel in Sullenberger's brilliance and professionalism, as detailed in the veteran pilot's resume. Expect his "executive career highlights" to be updated shortly..........LINK
Miracle #1:
Now I am not a pilot, but I can tell you with certainty that when a pilot incurs a "dead stick" on a 93,000 pound airliner, there are few options, and even fewer chances for passenger survival when setting down an aircraft on water. Air speed at impact is as critical as the position of the plane when touching down. Early reports are that "Sully" mastered the near perfect air speed while setting the tail of the airliner into the water softly enough to allow the belly of the plane to gently splash into the near freezing temperatures of the Hudson River without literally tearing the structure apart. The estimated air speed at impact was still around 100-130 mph when the plane hit the water. If the nose of the plane, or even the tip of a wing had hit before the tail dragged through the water, (further slowing down the planes impact speed), the structure would have certainly broken into several pieces insuring instant fatalities and most likely no survivors. Very few pilots in the world could have pulled off this textbook landing even if they could attempt the maneuver a hundred times. Only Sully knew the extent of the "dead stick" and his quick judgment to set the plane in the Hudson was his only option for the fewest number of fatalities. The fact that the combined acts of this pilot and the response time of those nearby, (and the first responders of rescue crews), was miracle #2. Miracle number three is simple; God was with all of these souls on this day and for this we can all be thankful.
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