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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.
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.
#16 Yeah, one for the howling monkey who wrote post #16 that takes away the merit of this pilot.
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
US Airways should promote him. Thats 155 fewer wrongful death lawsuits. You can always get another plane, its insured.
#31–abus==you answered NONE of the questions. Thats “ok” unless your intent was to do so.
Ditching in the river leads me to think it doesn’t matter if the Ditch Switch is thrown or not==I would not even call it a mistake not to.
Yes, all honest working people are under assault as a result of bad economic policy for the past years–at least since during Carter.
It matters little what pilots have “given up.” What they make NOW is all that is relevant. No retirement huh? That sucks.
RBG==what kind of power/control exists in this a/c after Engines are lost? Enough to lower the gear? Enough to guarantee control of flight surfaces?
I think there are more variable trying to make it to a hard surface miles away than the river that is much closer and no fear of landing short or long? Without more info, I’d say the river was the best choice. Of course, “at altitude” with a bit of time to think and evaluate, airport landings are preferred==hence this “real” emergency.
34 bobbo. I don’t disagree with you. That’s why I wrote that it didn’t matter much in Sully’s case even if busdriver found he could have made a runway. One fast miscalculation or unfortunate gamble could mean a complete disaster. With that many lives at stake, you would have to be at least 99.9% certain you could make it to an airport with no surprises.
(Which gets back to my earlier observation that it wouldn’t take much for an onboard computer to crunch all the internal and external info, including GPS, to give a running picture of what airports are within *easy* glide. All aircraft should have such a thing & not just nearest airport imho.)
But note, if busdriver said they tried to simulate the water landing, you can be certain they investigated whether an airport landing was possible. The simulator would have all the factors you mentioned built in.
My question was theoretical curiosity only.
RBG
US AIRWAYS 1549 DID NOT CRASH SOLELY DUE TO BIRD INGESTION.
If you’d like the analysis of an experienced pro pilot and flight instructor, go to:
http://us-airways-1549-crash-analysis.blogspot.com/