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Daylife/AP Photo by Craig Ruttle
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The pilot of the US Airways Airbus that was forced to crash-land in New York’s Hudson river after both its engines failed has told investigators he made a split-second decision to attempt a water landing to avoid a possibly “catastrophic” crash in Manhattan.
Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s account of the landing was released as salvage crews hoisted US Airways Flight 1549 from the river and on to a barge. Investigators retrieved the plane’s black boxes, which were filled with fresh water, and sent them to Washington for analysis.
The aircraft’s torn and shredded underbelly revealed the force with which it hit the water. A gash extended from the base of the plane toward the windows, its right wing appeared charred and the exterior of the destroyed right engine apparently had been peeled off…
The pilot told investigators yesterday that in the few minutes he had to decide where to set down the plane on Thursday afternoon, he felt it was “too low, too slow” and near too many buildings to go anywhere other than the river, according to an account of his testimony to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Sullenberger and his co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, who was initially flying the plane, described the moment when a flock of geese struck the passenger jet, taking out the engines. Skiles said the birds flew straight at them in perfect formation. Sullenberger said that in an instant the windscreen was filled with birds.
“His instinct was to duck,” said Kitty Higgins, an NTSB board member, recounting their interview. Then there was a thump, the smell of burning birds, and silence as both aircraft engines cut out, she said.
With both engines out, flight attendants described complete silence in the cabin, “like being in a library”, Higgins said. A smoky haze and the odour of burning metal or electronics filled the plane…
Sullenberger told investigators he immediately took over flying from his co-pilot and made a series of command decisions: returning to LaGuardia was out, as was aiming for the nearby Teterboro airport, as it would mean taking the jet over densely populated northern New Jersey.
“We can’t do it,” he told air traffic controllers. “We’re gonna be in the Hudson…”
After guiding the gliding jet over the George Washington Bridge, Sullenberger picked a stretch of water near Manhattan’s commuter ferry terminals to land. Rescuers were able to arrive within minutes…
Kudos to Sullenberger. Fine example of what being a pro is all about.
“Kudos to Sullenberger. Fine example of what being a pro is all about.” /// Eggzactly.
One airplane, slightly used. Cheap!
More information from ABC news is here. AP reported the “ditch switch” that seals the aircraft from incoming water was not used, and he landed downwind due to proximity to the ferry docks.
I’ll bet Capt. Sullenberger gets some great Christmas gifts this year.
bobbo will say: “The passengers didn’t get complimentary peanuts. Back in my day we got peanuts with our water ditchings!”
Just before ditching, the pilot got on the intercom and announced that they were going to stop to pick up some ice!
A flock of Canada Geese coming straight at you at a few hundred miles an hour. Are you supposed to see that? Certainly if it was a tiny Cessna 152.
The trouble with enquiries is that boards will now take years parsing and analyzing every microsecond of the decisions forced to be made by the pilots in mere seconds.
Wouldn’t it seem like a good idea to have a display on board that constantly monitors GPS- determined glide ratios and nearest airports?
The-Lads-And-Me-In-Burma Department: Flying a C-172, I once was on a nighttime final when suddenly in the distance I could see a curious fluttering. As it grew larger, I realized it was a bird headed right for the prop. At the last moment it just curved right over it and thudded across the cabin top.
A former instructor topped that with a similar story that ended with the discovery of bird feet caught in an aircraft antenna.
RBG
It’s all about training. Hope the Airlines don’t start trying to skimp (to cut back on expenses) on training like most other industries.
“bobbo will say: ‘The passengers didn’t get complimentary peanuts. Back in my day we got peanuts with our water ditchings!'”
But, someone might be allergic to the peanuts! Which is why they now hand out pretzels.
Training? You bet. But as Hemmingway said, “Courage is grace under pressure.” Seems that Sullenberger fits that definition.
#7 noname.
They already have. This pilot is ex military with tens of thousands of hours fly time. Most of the pilots for these small regional airlines come out of “flying schools”. They are often times young and arrogant punks that think they should be making big bucks. If it had been one of those, this incident would have had a completely different outcome.
another tidbit of info about this pilot, one that I think played a role in his successful emergency landing – he was a glider instructor.
Winston, you can choke on a pretzel. Just ask George Bush.
Rule 2: Never, no, Always push the ditch switch when ditching.
(Superseded only by Rule 1: Fly the f’n plane.)
RBG
“an official familiar with the accident told The Associated Press. Sullenberger is a former fighter pilot who runs a safety consulting firm in addition to flying commercial aircraft.
Sullenberger, who has flown for US Airways since 1980, flew F-4 fighter jets with the Air Force in the 1970s. He then served on a board that investigated aircraft accidents and participated later in several National Transportation Safety Board investigations.”
http://tinyurl.com/7wnuhr
With all due respect, the pilots did what they were trained to do. That is to react rationally, assess the situation, weigh the alternatives, and make a decision.
While they may appear to be heroes because the plane didn’t break up and there was no loss of life, they did exactly as they should have. Would another pair of pilots done different? Maybe, but most likely not.
All the alternatives to the Hudson would have involved landing on buildings. They just didn’t have the altitude or speed to make a runway and they would have been too heavy with the amount of fuel they were carrying anyway for an unpowered landing.
Commend them. Just remember, it was because they fallowed their training that all went as well as it should have.
Any peanuts left?
Mr. Fusion, yes, training will help make the initial decisions. It’s that last 5 seconds before the sh, er, before the plane hits the water that counts. That, and knowing that a downwind landing will place the plane in quick reach of the ferries. That’s a tough decision, to add 20 kts. to the final touchdown speed as a tradeoff for proximity to possible rescue.
#17–Bubba==you think he thought about “where the rescue ships were” when he decided to land upwind or downwind? Did he determine to land in the middle of the river rather than nearer the edge as well? Did he determine to leave the ditch switch open for any particular reason? Why did he land hot with all that time to think things over?
As with most things: He made mistakes. Given the totality of the circumstances, ((and the results)), I tend to give him a break. In fact, I would criticize the co-pilot for not calling out the ditch switch and commend him for trying to restart the engines multiple times. He is, the pilot is, we are, all only human afterall.
Here’s something I’ve always wondered about…how many of you would have left your laptops under the seat?
If my laptop was in that plane right now, do you think I’d ever get it back?
What about my carry-on bag with $20k of cash, or jewels, or whatever?
Three words: “glider pilot instructor!”
Where does he instruct? I want some lessons!!!!!!!
I never heard of ‘black boxes’ before; I thought each aircraft had just one black box. I also imagined that the aircraft’s black box was waterproof.
It seems as if this pilot was an experienced guy flying military planes and having an interest in airline safety. Perhaps other pilots would not have had the same presence of mind.
#23–Thats right David==every time you take an airline flight you put your life in danger because many of the pilots have no presence of mind about what to do when things go wrong.
Makes you wonder why they even have pilots on airplanes and what in the world they learn over years of training.
I can no longer find the post about rail versus air travel. Living as we do for the time being in Japan I can say that the public transport system here in general, including rail travel, is great. I think the US could well improve its rail system at least for short hops. It is obviously better than going to an airport and waiting for a plane with all the hassle that that entails. Not to mention the risk.
It’s not uncommon for airline pilots to have military training. And if you think about it, your tax dollars paid for many of them to get this, and then “jump ship” and go get a very lucrative civilian career, flying jetliners. It all part of how tax dollar subsidize the air travel industry. And yet I doubt you’ll find any railroad engineers that had military training, before hand. The same goes for Police and Firefighters. Which is why these are always wanting of personnel and resources. They don’t have that sweet deal, the airlines enjoy.
A little late, but it just came to me, seeing the picture, to think of a David Letterman bit.
“Will it float, will it float?” Sorry.
26 Glenn E. Military pilots pay for their training with long, hard hours torn from their families for little pay. Some pay for it with their lives.
Maybe also we need a law that says if you gain any experience or expertise at any job, you can’t later be a competitor or work for one. It’s just not fair.
RBG
For all you worrying about the ‘ditch switch’ and whether or not it was pushed- do you know what it does? It closes a a few doors (ie avionics cooling doors) below the waterline to help float a plane. As far as I know, those doors don’t mean much when the hull is cracked or punctured, like 1549 was.
The checklist that calls for the ditching PB assumes a ditch from altitude most likely from fuel starvation (Air Transat @1999) and a lot more of a controlled descent.
Lets see, congested NYC airspace, heavy, low altitude and not knowing what happened and trying to diagnose it, meanwhile avoiding airplanes and buildings. As an Airbus pilot myself, the ditching PB would be about #300 on my “to do” list.
Sully had 3 minutes- the lawyers will have years to diagnose every second of this flight for their frivolous lawsuits.
#29–abus==when ditching should the ditch switch be open or closed?
Do you think Sully was a superhero demonstrating masterful aircraft control or an experienced pilot exercising normal skills for his experience?
What other choices did Sully have?
#30- the doors involved in with the ditching PB open and close depending on the situation (without getting too much into airbus systems) when the button is pushed, all doors are sent a signal to close. The button is mist familiar to bus drivers during deicing, we use it to close the engine ‘packs’ or AC system to mitigate the fumes that can be smelled in the cabin.
I was doing simulator training when this all happened last week and we simulated what happened with the info that we knew at the time. We knew it was coming and were very busy to say the least. Superhero is a weird word if you ask me, but I don’t think many pilots would have fared as well as Sully. I hope he doesn’t have to buy a beer for the rest of his life.
FYI US Air pilots, since 9/11, have given up 60% of their pay and all their retirement. I ask that you think of this crew next time you think pilots are overpaid.
Bravo Zulu
So abusdriver320, did you make it to an airport? I say you could have, given the ground track and event timeline I saw. Not that that makes any difference to Capt. Sully’s situation.
RBG