Daily Archives: January 16, 2009

Note to “fire fighters.” This is the stuff that hero’s are made of. Chelsey Sullenburger. I would bet my net value that this guy will not be seen all over T.V. telling everyone how he is a hero. His wife and friends have said that he is a humble man that will probably refuse to accept the fact that he is a hero.

Addendum: Sully, dude your wife is a hottie!

I think that Mr. Sullenburger is an amazing person that acted like the gifted pilot that he is under extraordinary circumstances. I have not heard the flight data tapes yet, but I would bet that the entire crew acted calmly and did exactly what was necessary to bring that aircraft down as safely as they possibly could under the circumstances.

It should be pointed out that the flight attendants and co-pilot did an amazing job too. I don’t know who these people are because the focus has been on Mr. Sullenburger, but they all acted bravely and did a great job to make sure that once the aircraft was in the water, everyone got out safely and was rescued. Good Job!

Again in the news I see the FDNY guys trying desperately to glom on to the hero factor here. Real hero’s don’t have to tell people that they are hero’s. They don’t go into bars and sit about bragging to anyone that will listen about how tough and dangerous their job is. That’s why firemen have such a high divorce rate because even their wives think that they are idiots. It’s embarrassing. JD (Man I love goofing on firemen!)

Article below.

Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was out of options at 3,000 feet (920 meters) on Thursday when he calmly steered his crippled jetliner, loaded with passengers, toward the Hudson River. Sullenberger’s Airbus A320 apparently struck a flock of birds moments after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, knocking out both engines.

The jet is designed to fly with one engine out. But a dual bird strike that kills both powerplants, if confirmed by federal transportation investigators, is virtually unheard of in U.S. aviation.

Flight 1549 was running about 30 minutes late when it lifted off from LaGuardia shortly before 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT) bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, with 150 passengers and five crew, the FAA said.

Within minutes, word came back to New York controllers from the cockpit that a bird strike had knocked out both of the A320 CMF-56 series engines.

According to details pieced together from air traffic controllers and aviation officials with knowledge of the harrowing moments above New York and New Jersey, it seemed as if the entire incident of several minutes passed in a flash, demanding that Sullenberger employ every bit of his years of experience.

According to controllers, an “eerie calm“ defined controller and cockpit communications as options dwindled. Return to LaGuardia? Too far. Land at small Teterboro Airport across the river in New Jersey? The plane wouldn’t make that either. An audacious river landing was the only option, an official of the controllers’ union told Reuters.

“That was pretty much it,“ said Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). “It was very clear to our controllers that he was going to make an attempt at the Hudson.“

Radar showed the nearly 10-year-old jet making a series of tight turns to left to head down the river, flying low over the George Washington Bridge.

As Sullenberger, a former fighter pilot with 40 years of flying experience, from Danville, California, set the plane down in the river, it kicked up a tremendous splash.

His co-pilot was not identified. Three flight attendants aboard were credited with safely evacuating the plane and getting passengers into life vests and onto partially submerged wings and rafts, the union representing those workers said.