Perks to the pilot on a job well done.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/ ... 4543.shtml
Flight 1549: US Airways goes down in Hudson River
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Tailhook
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Flight 1549: US Airways goes down in Hudson River
Last edited by Tailhook on Fri Feb 13, 2009 1:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
I was at approx 17,000ft over Manhattan as it happened, but didn't find out until after landing. Amazing job by the pilots and in-flight crew!!! Looks like everyone onboard has survived. It's a miracle that the plane didn't break up while ditching in the Hudson.
Pilot reported loss of power in (both) engines of the A320 enroute from LGA to CLT, declared an emergency & birdstrike (flock of geese).
Pilot reported loss of power in (both) engines of the A320 enroute from LGA to CLT, declared an emergency & birdstrike (flock of geese).
Departure runway 4 @ LGA. They basically made a left 180 back down the Hudson with no time to reach any of the nearby airports in New Jersey or New York. News media said they cleared the G. Washington Bridge @ 900 AGL...
What do you think the odds are that the copilot was the one flying? (In both the Lufthansa A320 incident last year where they scraped the wingtip in strong crosswinds, as well as the British Airways 777 that lost power on final at Heathrow, the FO was flying). Just going on track record, but regardless the crew did a phenomenal job ditching this bird and evacuating everyone safely!
What do you think the odds are that the copilot was the one flying? (In both the Lufthansa A320 incident last year where they scraped the wingtip in strong crosswinds, as well as the British Airways 777 that lost power on final at Heathrow, the FO was flying). Just going on track record, but regardless the crew did a phenomenal job ditching this bird and evacuating everyone safely!
Great job to the entire crew, including the cabin crew for getting everyone out safely.
I even managed to steal some reflected glory myself!
Super Sully
I even managed to steal some reflected glory myself!
Super Sully
A friend on mine that used to fly for US Air that now flies for Air Tran provided me with these photos of the recovery of the A320. Interesting shots.
http://news.webshots.com/album/569832542rJkHus
http://news.webshots.com/album/569832542rJkHus
Jumpseat Rider's account of UsAir ditching
Found this posted in an airline forum:
The following is an exclusive account for our members from one of our pilots who was onboard US Airways Flight 1549 when the pilots made a successful emergency ditching into New York’s Hudson River. First Officer S O’Dl is a LGA-based 767 pilot. She resides with her family in South Carolina. Susan is a former Navy pilot, hired at AA in February 1990. She has flown the 727, F100, A300 and now the 767.
The following is her account of the flight, the rescue and recovery response, as well as the support she experienced afterward. This is intended to give each of you a unique insight into the event. We also hope that the crew’s tremendous effort to take care of each other and the nearly instantaneous support of USAPA and APA responders become “takeaways” for our pilots to use when faced with an emergency.
I was a jumpseat rider seated in First Class on Flight 1549 from LGA to CLT, which successfully ditched in the Hudson River. I’ve been asked to share a few of my experiences on that day. Although it was a stressful incident, the successful outcome and the assistance and support I received afterwards have been truly humbling and inspirational.
After introducing myself to and being welcomed aboard by Captain Sullenberger and FO Skiles, I was offered seat 3D, an aisle seat in the last row of First Class. I was in my uniform. Another jumpseat rider took a seat in row 6. These were the last empty seats on the airplane. I wasn’t paying much attention to the flight until, climbing out, there were several loud thumps occurring roughly simultaneously along both sides of the aircraft. “Bird strikes,” I thought. A few seconds later, there was a bit of smoke and the stench of burning bird that seemed to confirm my guess. There was a turn to the left, and I assumed we were returning to LGA.
The passengers were concerned but calm. I couldn’t see any part of the aircraft out the window from my aisle seat. Although I didn’t hear much that sounded encouraging from the engines, I expected we would have at least partial thrust with which to limp back to LGA. We rolled out of the turn, and I could tell we were not maintaining altitude. Then we heard the PA: “This is the Captain. Brace for impact.”
Obviously we weren’t returning to LGA, and I could see enough out the window to realize we’d be landing in the river. The flight attendants began shouting their “brace” litanies and kept it up until touchdown. The descent seemed very controlled, and the sink rate reasonably low. I believed the impact would be violent but survivable, although I did consider the alternative. The passengers remained calm and almost completely quiet. As we approached the water, I braced by folding my arms against the seat back in front of me, then putting my head against my arms. There was a brief hard jolt, a rapid decel and we were stopped. It was much milder than I had anticipated. If the jolt had been turbulence, I would have described it as moderate. Thinking about it later on, I realized it was no worse than a carrier landing.
After landing, the attitude of the aircraft was slightly nose high, but not far off a normal parked attitude, and there was no obvious damage to the cabin or water intrusion where I was. No one was hurt or panicked. We all stood up. I could hear the doors open and the sound of slide inflation. There was a verbal command “Evacuate;” people were already moving towards the doors. I exited through the forward right door and entered the raft. The evacuation up front was orderly and swift, and we were not in the water long before being picked up by various boats, which were extremely quick to the scene. Many passengers were standing on the wing, going from feet dry to nearly waist deep as the rescue progressed. They were of course the first to be picked up by the arriving boats. I was picked up by a large ferry boat, climbing a ladder hanging from the bow. It didn’t take long to get all passengers into the boats and to the ferry terminals.
Once at the terminal, we were met by police, firemen, paramedics, FBI, Homeland Security, the Red Cross, Mayor Bloomberg, and more. Captain Sullenberger continued in a leadership role in the aftermath, talking with the passengers, assembling his crew and including myself and the other jumpseat rider as members of his crew. I was impressed to note that he had the aircraft logbook tucked under his arm. When the Captain asked me if I wanted to join the crew at the hotel, I told him I would really appreciate it as I had lost my wallet. He immediately pulled out his wallet and gave me $20. His concern for me when he had so much else to worry about was amazing.
The USAPA representative was on the scene very quickly, and again included the other jumpseat rider and myself with the rest of the crew. I didn’t see a flight attendant representative; USAPA took care of the FAs as well. The USAPA representative escorted the entire crew to the hospital (we rode in a NYFD fire truck), where we were joined by other USAPA reps and the USAPA lawyer, all of whom continued to consider me as one of the crew. At the hospital, I had finally called the APA “in case of accident” number on the back of my ID badge for APA. I had not initially thought of that as applying to my situation, as a jumpseater on another airline, but I called anyway. I spoke with APA LGA Vice Chairman Captain G S, who departed immediately to come assist me.
After a routine evaluation, they transported us by police car to a hotel, where rooms were waiting. The USAPA version of our Flight Assist was also there, and they spoke to me and offered me whatever assistance I needed, again as if I was one of their own. The USAPA reps also brought all of us some clothing and toiletries that they had purchased. Captain S arrived at the hotel, bringing me some necessary items. He stayed overnight at the hotel, making flight arrangements for me to go home the next day and escorting me to the airport. Captain M from the AA NY Flight Office met me at the departure gate, again offering assistance and support.
I am grateful for the many calls of concern and offers of help I have received, from fellow pilots, union representatives and the company, and I am grateful for and proud of the response and assistance of both USAPA and APA. I would hope that our union would treat another airline’s crewmember as kindly as I was treated. USAirways has also been superb, treating me as if I was a paying passenger. I am also thankful for the professionalism and capabilities of Captain Sullenberger, FO Skiles and FAs Dent, Dail and Welsh. They certainly did our profession proud, and they saved my life.
Late Show with David Letterman: Watch Dave's entire interview with Captain Chesley Sullenberger and the crew of the "Miracle on the Hudson" flight. Very funny!
Heroes of Flight 1549
Heroes of Flight 1549
Co-pilot in Hudson River crash returning to air - sees 'no future in being a long-term celebrity'
CGI reconstruction of the crash with ATC chatter
CGI reconstruction of the crash with ATC chatter
Gotta agree with that. There was nothing miraculous about it. Good crew training and SOPS, experienced pilots, well trained cabin crew and ATCO's performing at their usual high efficiency. And Airbus make a damn good aircraft as well."People want to relate it and say it's luck, divine intervention or heroism, but my thought was everybody was just doing their jobs," Skiles said.
They did have some luck in that if the geese had knocked out the engines a couple of thousand feet lower then their options would have been severely limited and it may have ended differently. But it didn't and everybody lived to tell the tale.
P.S. That animation is a little silly IMHO.
