My wife saw the whole rescue from our apartment.. They brought everyone on the NY side to St Lukes, which is next door to us on 59th. Amazing story. What an awesome pilot.
Give Geese a Chance [rquoter]If I Wrote For The Huffington Post by Andy Levy In the wake of the events of 1-15, in which a wedge of Geese brought down a US Airways aircraft, here’s what you won’t be hearing about from the so-called “Mainstream Media”: We brought this on ourselves. After an event such as this one, it’s important to look at the root causes: Why did the Geese attack us? Well, the truth is, for years we have been oppressing the Geese, using them for the fuel they provide for our bodies. Boneless Goose Breast, Brandied Roast Goose, Roast Goose with Cumberland Sauce and Apricot Stuffing. And of course, the Christmas Goose. In the name of religion, we have been engaged in what can only be called a Crusade against the Geese. Is it any wonder that a few brave suicide Geese would seek revenge? Under the neocon/neofascist Cheney-Bush administration, Goose consumption is up 1541%. Geese have been systematically deprived of their rights at a level never seen before. (Look around your workplace: do you see any Geese? Wouldn’t you be nervous if you did?) Reports of shameful anti-Goose activity are at an all-time high, mainly in the South and Midwest, of course. The fact is, WE (and, of course, Israel) are responsible for the rise of militant Gooslam. Given our actions, is it any wonder that gaggles of Goslings would reject the teachings of moderate Goose leaders, when those leaders are perceived as being in the pocket of the West? Given our actions, is it any wonder that these young Gooslamists would flock to more assertive leaders, leaders whose commitment to their cause cannot be questioned? Given our actions, the rise of a “Goosama” was inevitable. We have only ourselves to blame. (Does anyone doubt that somewhere there’s a photo of Donald Rumsfeld shaking hands with a Goose?) In the moments right after 1-15, many have been quick to praise the actions of the US Airways pilot. But the TRUTH is that our pilots have been instruments of the BU****LER illegal war against the Geese. I know the Repuglicans will attack me for saying this, but speaking TRUTH TO POWER of course makes me a true PATRIOT. And very brave. Right now America’s relationship with other species couldn’t be worse. Like most Americans, often when I’m hiking I find myself apologizing to woodland creatures for the actions of our illegitimate government. And like the rest of the world, I’m hopeful that once President Obama takes office, things will change, and that we will end our imperialistic attempts at hegemony over the rest of the planet. After all, if he can sit down with Iran and Hezbollah, he can sit down with the Geese.[/rquoter]
I think the first passenger to sue United for mental anguish should be thrown back into the Hudson. edit: Sorry, US AIRWAYS
Do they even have grounds for a lawsuit? Wouldn't this be considered an act of God? I realize this is America -- you can get sued for anything. It just seems a little ridiculous that anybody could rationally try to argue US Airways is guilty of malice. Somebody should make a computer generated simulation of what COULD have happened had the pilot been off on the landing. Show these people would could have happened if the pilot didn't execute a perfect belly landing. Imagine if he was a little off and one of the wings hit the water first -- the plane would have cartwheeled, been torn to pieces and there would have been massive loss of life.
Well according to my neighbor, who is a nurse at St Luke's Roosevelt, there were a handful of ambulance chasers lurking in the ER handing out cards before NY's Finest kicked their asses to the curb. Sleazebags.
The lawsuit could be against the engine manufacturers for making a turbine that can't withstand a bird strike -- probably will see Airbus thrown in there as well. When they go over the maintenance records if there are lapses US Airways could face liability. Airport could be responsible for allowing the plane to take off with a flock of geese near the airfield. There are many possible scenarios. Personally, i'm just amazed that pilot saved everyone landing that big plane full of fuel on a freaking river. Water landings like that are absolutely impossible in a large jet -- here is what normally happens... <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tZyDrpeWoBw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tZyDrpeWoBw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Good article on the pilot. Its good to know that we have this level of commercial pilots in the United States: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/16/crash.pilot.profile/index.html NEW YORK (CNN) -- Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III was "the right guy at the right time at the right moment" to guide a jet safely onto the surface of the Hudson River, a neighbor and friend said. Chesley Sullenberger is an Air Force veteran who has been with US Airways since 1980. Chesley Sullenberger is an Air Force veteran who has been with US Airways since 1980. Sullenberger has a cool, calm and collected style -- honed by decades of flight experience and research on safety issues, friend and neighbor John Walberg told the Contra Costa Times newspaper. All 155 passengers and crew aboard Flight 1549 survived. The 57-year-old former Air Force fighter pilot has been flying for more than 40 years, and has been with US Airways since 1980. His two-page resume is packed with achievements and highlights his broad aviation experience. The pilot speaks internationally on airline safety, and collaborates with the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management at the University of California-Berkeley, whose researchers look for ways to avoid air disasters. Video Watch a pilot applaud Sullenberger's skills » Sullenberger was primed to help passengers aboard the Airbus A320 survive the crisis, said Karlene Roberts, a university professor who co-directs the center. "I can imagine him being sufficiently in charge to get those people out," she said. "He's got that kind of personality, which is to his credit." Sullenberger's resume is packed with achievements. After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1973, he had a brief but distinguished Air Force career during which he flew the Vietnam-era F-4 Phantom fighter jet. He was a flight leader and training officer with experience in Europe and the Pacific and at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where he was the mission commander for Red Flag exercises. The exercises are for advanced aerial combat training, a position delegated to top pilots. Among those who congratulated Sullenberger was Lt. Gen. John Regni, the Air Force Academy superintendent, who graduated with Sullenberger. "He not only showcased unbelievable airmanship, but exemplary character as well," Regni said. "In addition to superb judgment under utmost pressure, by checking his aircraft twice to ensure there were no passengers left behind he epitomized the 'service before self' concept we strive to instill in our cadets," Regni said. Sullenberger is president and CEO of Safety Reliability Methods Inc., a company he founded. The firm provides emergency management, safety strategies and performance monitoring to the aviation industry. He was an instructor and Air Line Pilots Association safety chairman, accident investigator and national technical committee member, according to a biography on the Web site of his company. He participated in several U.S. Air Force and National Transportation Safety Board accident investigations, and worked with NASA scientists on a paper on error and aviation, according to his resume. He was widely praised after Thursday's forced water landing, apparently caused by a "double bird strike," which crippled the plane's engines. "It was an amazing piece of airmanship," said Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board. Don't Miss Even New York's mayor had praise. "It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure that everybody got out," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference Thursday. "I had a long conversation with the pilot. He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off and tried to verify that there was nobody else on board -- and assures us there was not." Sullenberger's wife, Lorrie, told CNN that his response wasn't surprising. "This is the Sully I know, she said. "I always knew this is how he would react. So, to me, this is not something unusual. It's the man I know to be the consummate professional." She also told the New York Post on Thursday that her husband "is about performing that airplane to the exact precision to which it is made." "I've said for a long time that he's a pilot's pilot. He loves the art of the airplane," she said standing with the couple's two daughters outside their Danville, California, home on Friday. Video Watch interview with pilot's wife » She said her husband, who hadn't spoken to the media as of noon Friday, was doing well. "He's feeling better today. He's a pilot. He's very controlled, very professional," she said. She divulged to CNN that she was stunned to hear the news from her husband after it was all over. advertisement "I hadn't been watching the news. I've heard Sully say to people, 'It's rare for an airline pilot to have an incident in their career.' " "When he called me he said, 'There's been an accident.' At first I thought it was something minor, but then he told me the circumstances and my body started shaking and I rushed to get our daughters out of school."
I just heard on NPR saying that the engines were designed to handle a strike by a 4 lb bird while Canadian Geese frequently top 10 lbs. Yeah that is pretty amazing. I was talking to a friend of mine who was wondering," why wouldn't you want to land on water since it is softer than land?" The problem with landing on water is that it is a shifting and outdoors is generally a rough surface. Also for anyone that's done a bellyflop can tell that if you hit it hard enough it is very hard. I saw a special about the Swiss Air flight that crashed into the ocean off of Nova Scotia about 10 years ago and while they had figured that the plane lost power even though it might have glided down it was ripped up by the surface of the ocean. So landing on a body of water with any chop is like landing on a big cheesegrater.
Nice find. They should show this clip to anybody thinking about filing a lawsuit before they decide to actually do it.
At the risk of sounding pro-lawyer (Mad Max and Sam Fisher will be pleased) there may be grounds for a lawsuit if a problem is shown in the design of the plane regarding what its tolerences are or if it wasn't just the bird strike that brought it down but some other failure. There is still an ongoing investigation and neither the engines or the black box have been recovered. While the pilot did an excellent job landing the plane its not known for certain why it was coming down.
i think you may be selling the pilot short. the miracle in this case is not just that everyone on the plane walked away, but also that no one on the ground was injured. considering that the incident happened over the bronx, in an extremely densely populated area, and he somehow manged to get the plane donw w/o hitting a building, or the GWB, with no engines and a full tank of gas, and w/o the plane breaking up in the water- it's ****ing miraculous piece of flying.
If I was on that plane, I would: 1) Send the pilot a fruit basket, fa sho. 2) I wouldn't be scared of flying again. In fact, I would hope for some kinda golden ticket and then just start flying all the time. What are the odds of being in two plane crashes? Being in one would basically make me feel more safe that it would never happen to me again. Plus, I could always turn to the person next to me during take-off and tell them how I was in a plane crash before while giving out an uneasy laugh.
I'm the one throwing people in the freaking river. You just stick to ordering Thai food and playing GTA.
