Re: US Airway 1549 Floating Down East River


"Lawrence Akutagawa" <lakuNOSPAM@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:FHncl.18670$ZP4.6308@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Evelyn" <evelyn.ruut@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:gksl5u$pd3$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hal Hanig" <halhanig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:ILdcl.121791$2w3.47544@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Evelyn wrote:
"Hal Hanig" <halhanig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:f97cl.22927$u14.12093@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Evelyn wrote:
He is a hero in my book. I was tempted to leave a message and say so,
but
the guy is probably inundated with them. What could have been a
horrible
disaster was averted with not a single life lost.


Without getting too carried away, as a former military pilot I'd like to
point out that a hero is somebody who risks his life in order to try to
help save others.

In this case, what he did was exactly what every other pilot ever made
would have done in the same circumstances. I don't know how much better
he would have been than most, but it's a fair conclusion that he was far
luckier than most of the rest of them probably would have been. He didn't
risk his life any more than any other pilot suffering a cataclysmic loss
of his engines would have.

So, good pilot? Without question. Lucky pilot? Without a doubt. Hero?
We can't tell from what he did that he risked his life for others apart
from the fact that he successfully dealt with the lousy hand that had been
shoved down his throat. I guess what I'm trying to say that if his
airplane had been empty, he'd have done exactly the same things and
probably with the same results. Would that have made him a hero?
.....not by my definition.

So, in my book, it was a magnificent demonstration of flying skills, the
laurels for which he clearly deserved, but it had nothing to do with
heroism.

What you say may be true, but if he hadn't landed that plane in the water
just right, it could have cartwheeled, broke apart, and many could have and
probably would have, died. It may have been good training, it may have
been a calm cool head, and it may be that he has been affiliated with safety
for a long time. But I still would like to call him a hero, and so does
most of NY. He is being referred to on the news as the hero miracle pilot
who saved a planeful of people.

Sorry, but he performed no aviation miracles. He simply did what all other well trained pilots would have done and considered it part of his job. Some undoubtedly would not have done it as well and none could have done it better. One pilot cannot give another pilot higher grades than that. The fact that he had a plane full of people didn't make his job any harder or easier.....it had nothing at all to do with it.

You can choose to reject the opinion of someone perhaps more knowledgeable than yourself in such matters because you're entitled to your own opinion. However, when you do so, you reflect poorly on your overreliance on your emotions rather than on logical thought.

Sadly, your explanation leaves me unconvinced about his heroism. The fact that others see it the same way that you do only reflects that they share your shortcomings. Lest anyone misread my view of his performance, I remain in awe at how perfect it was. That's the highest accolade I can give him and I'll bet you a hundred dollars to a donut that he'd value that far more than he would being called a hero by people who don't understand either heroism or flying skills.

Hal the guy himself is not buying into the hero thing,....... but consider too that people need heroes. We especially need heroes now. He saved lives by his skill and clear thinking. He also saved himself in the process. It was a prodigious feat when you see a world where there seem to be so few with the honor and the courage to do what they are supposed to do. In this sense I don't care who calls him a hero, and I will continue to do so myself. In a world where the Madoff's and Bush's and AIG's and such exist, it is a joy to know there is a guy who saved 150 people in a very dangerous situation by his skill and clear thinking in the face of great danger. You may have a higher definition of the word, but I still think he deserves it.

Without getting into this definitional argument about "hero" - allow me to point out that the headlines could have been very, very different from what they were. Those headlines could have well been something of the order of "Over 100 dead in airplane crash on the Hudson River." I for one am most thankful that the headlines were as they in fact were.

The one aspect of this whole thing I don't quite understand myself - and which some of you in the Manhattan area possibly can clarify - is the amount of water traffic where the plane came down. Clearly the area has a large amount of water traffic - the fact that rescuers were on hand within three minutes or so speaks for that density. Yet that airplane managed to avoid all those watercraft. I guess that an analogy is that of an airplane landing on a freeway/turnpike in the middle of not bumper to bumber, but somewhat heavy traffic. And at the same time, the plane had to avoid the George Washington bridge. Furthermore, if I understand correctly, that pilot was in communication with the LaGuadia tower and talkng the passengers at the same time. I look forward to reading the cockpit transcripts of this flight.

Footnote - I'd hate to be a bird near an airport the coming weeks/months/years.



He had the right moment, the right opportunity and he was the right guy in the cockpit! There are loads of boats of all kinds on that river. He could have easily collided with anything from a huge ship to a pleasure craft or a ferryboat. Fortuitous circumstance ........ for that plane and all who were on it.

--
--
Best Regards,
Evelyn

Rest in a sky-like mind.
Sit like a mountain floating on the earth.
Breathe like the wind circling the world

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: US Airway 1549 Floating Down East River
    ... disaster was averted with not a single life lost. ... as a former military pilot I'd like to ... the pilot walked up and down the aisles TWICE after the plane ... more appropriate fate to wish on good 'ol Hal's daughters would be to ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: US Airway 1549 Floating Down East River
    ... disaster was averted with not a single life lost. ... as a former military pilot I'd like to ... the pilot walked up and down the aisles TWICE after the plane ... camel herders and may every cow in Texas SHIT in your ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: US Airway 1549 Floating Down East River
    ... disaster was averted with not a single life lost. ... as a former military pilot I'd like to ... point out that  a hero is somebody who risks his life in order to try to ... the pilot walked up and down the aisles TWICE after the plane ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: US Airway 1549 Floating Down East River
    ... disaster was averted with not a single life lost. ... as a former military pilot I'd like to ... Would that have made him a hero? ... That's the highest accolade I can give him and I'll bet you a hundred dollars to a donut that he'd value that far more than he would being called a hero by people who don't understand either heroism or flying skills. ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: US Airway 1549 Floating Down East River
    ... disaster was averted with not a single life lost. ... as a former military pilot I'd like ... point out that a hero is somebody who risks his life in order to try ... He saved lives by his skill and clear thinking. ...
    (soc.retirement)