I've been watching tv about the miraculous landing of a disabled plane in New York. All the people on board survived. This was a US Air plane and I have a personal interest in that my nephew works for USAir. He does not fly however, and is ground crew in Pittsburgh. His brother used to also work for USAir and he was always in flight. Not a pilot, a computer specialist.
I think the crew of the aircraft is in the HERO category. It's so good to have a good outcome for some tragedy! This couldn't have happened at a worse time weather-wise! If this shouldn't be here, just please move it. Lucy
Lucy - I've just seen this on TV news in England and I totally agree with you. What an incredible pilot! Do you know anything about the pilot? The TV news didn't report anything about him/her, or show any pictures of the crew.
It doesn't bear imagining what might have happened if the pilot hadn't been able to land the plane on the Hudson river. What incredible skill, and what quick thinking. Definitely HERO category.
Chana x
Hi Lucy,
I've been watching it too. It's so good to see this end well when it could have been so tragic. I feel bad for the people on board because this must have scared the "you know what" out of them but thanks to a great pilot and crew, they survived. This never should have happened but thank goodness it wasn't the tragedy it could easlity have been.
quig
This pilot and crew should be awarded the Heroes of The Year. I couldn't believe my eyes when they showed the scene on TV. I just felt so sorry for the passengers because it was so frigid and the thought of them going in the water, just took my breath away.
It was so wonderful to see the ships taking the passengers from the plane, onto the ships without having to rescue them from the water. I'm sure it was cold and I'm sure they were wet with spray, but the whole thing was just one HUGE MIRACLE.
Pooh
This outcome and story gave me goosebumps. I am so glad everything "seems" to be turning out ok. I gave my kids an extra long hug when I picked them up from daycare today. I had heard there were a couple of children on the plane. Not sure if it is true, but I would have been petrified for them.
The pilot and crew truely are heros.
Vicky
OMG Lucy... I was going to post the same title !!
What a miracle indeed. I was watching and crying... did anyone else see the African American guy in the long dark dress coat.. running with his arms up in victory !! He made me cry... They said that people pretty much stepped out of that plane, to the wing and onto a boat...All participants were awesome, but NY Rescue and Dive Teams 'rock' !!
The pilot is a 57 year old man who has been with USAir for almost 30 years. I read that he had also been a fighter pilot in the Air Force. Apparently he also worked with Transportation Safety something or other. An extra round of applause for a mature hero. I'm sure he will be briefed by everyone under the sun--just to make sure this was a flock of birds that was the problem. Lucy
Just seen this story this morning. What an amazing outcome. The crew are all heros.
Kathyx
I was in total shock last night as I watched pictures of the scene on TV again. When they showed the picture of the pilot I couldn't believe it.
When I flew to Chicago for my son's retirement ceremony from the Air Force, we had quite a delay coming back due to problems with our plane. They taxied it up and down the runway what seemed like forever and then after 6 1/2 hours we took off. The problems continued in flight. It was a hair raising experience. When we got off the plane the Captain was waiting in the lounge to greet us. I able to speak to him and was so impressed with his calm, I will never forget him.
Well, it was the same pilot that brought that plane in safely yesterday. I couldn't believe my eyes when his picture came on the screen. God Bless him and all his crew, they did a fantastic job.
Pooh
Wow Pooh . . . bet that sent shivers up your spine yesterday when you saw "your" pilot on the news as a hero!!
It goes to show that being a pilot of an aircraft is a very serious job. Not only is the pilot responsible for all the passengers who are flying with him, but also the crew members who are flying too, himself/herself included. Many times when there is something wrong with the plane they have only seconds or minutes to go into action. Considering they were less than seven minutes into the flight, one can only imagine how quickly everything took place. (my hands are sweating just thinking about this!!!) Kudos to everyone on that plane . . pilot, crew, passengers. How fortunate there was a body of water nearby to land in and a pilot that could bring her down safely. All the rescue people are to be commended too - everyone went into action immediately.
One of my friends that lives in Ohio e-mailed me yesterday and said her son-in-law works in one of the buildings facing the Hudson River right where the plane landed!!
Miracles DO happen. ;D
Bucky
Northern California is very proud of their hero!
It warms my heart to see the survivors and hearing accolades for the pilot and rescue crews, especially with all the negative in the news today.
Hello
Yes it was a wonderful thing to see. That pilot and crew should get some medals out of this. What a amazing guy. I was watching TV the minute it was reported and It is about time we heard some good news. I am tired of hearing all the bad news. Not many people can say the survived a plane crash. God was watching out for everyone that day.
Theresa
May 25, 1979...The crash of American Airlines Flight 191 near O'Hare
The worst air disaster in American history claims 273 lives...
Basically, this plane caught on fire, rolled over and broke apart just after lift off... there were no survivors...
I had tickets for this flight... It was headed for Los Angeles.
I was all set to fly out to visit friends who had just moved to LA... I was so excited, I was leaveing the Friday before Memorial Day.. I remember talking with my friend, who said it was probably not a good time to visit. Afterall, there was a gas shortage, there were gas 'lines' even and odd days... not sure if we'll be able to get around...
I was so disappointed...
We decided it was a better idea to postpone the trip and visit in the Fall...
So 4 days before the trip I walked into the travel agency and canceled the flight...
I still have the ticket with the stamp saying CANCEL in red on it ...
On a lighter note, did anyone see the little girl on the Today show, she was about 4, her brother and parents were on the plane yesterday... she said "yup, we were on a plane that turned into a boat" ;D
SeaBreeze,
Your story gave me goose bumps! I lived right outside of Chicago when that crash happened and I still remember how awful that was! You definitely have some angels watching over you....thanks goodness for that!
Pooh,
You also had some angels watching over you....I cant believe it was the same pilot...he is a HERO!
Now those angels were watching over all of the people on that flight that went down in the Hudson...it was definitely a miracle that everyone survived and the pilot and his crew were all heroes indeed!
I believe in angels....they watch over us in so many ways that we may not even notice! But they are there! (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-angelic007.gif) (http://www.freesmileys.org)
Wow! Such stories. It sure is nice to have some major good news for a change, that we can all celebrate. Likewise with the ferry boat nearby that immediately went over to help the plane passengers. I hope we will be hearing more stories about people behaving well in trying circumstances, as we wade through the next few months of economic gloom. Inspiration like that is nourishment for the soul.
Genko
That pilot is a real hero. On TV tonight they gave some bio on him. He is Air Force academy graduate with 2 Masters degrees. He flew a F4 fighter plane in Viet Nam War. He has 19,000 miles air time under his belt. A huge amount of experience in 40 years of flying.
When I first heard about this I wondered right away if he flew gliders and it turns out he did. The guys that fly gliders really seem to understand a lot about air currents and what a plane is capable of without power. It was one big miracle with many other miracles that fell into place. Such a great thing for our nation at this time of uncertainty.
They also told on the radio today that he walked the inside of the plane 2 times to make sure everyone was off and then proceeded to disembark and up the plank carrying his clip board. He was seen later sitting in a little shop quietly having a cup of coffee. A few of the passengers said that he had the regal bearing of David Niven. Several passengers were able to thank him and were emotional about it. The pilot just gave them a quiet "thank you". The pilot had been preparing for this day all his life. Who says the over 40 crowd is over the hill. Irish ;D