bertram31.com

This is a pretty cool recreation of the whole event with audio.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/tE_5eiYn0D0#t=109

A cool bit of flying... Most people don't know it but the airframe is really not designed for ditching on water... It can be done but everything has to "click"... You can see that in the case of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_ ... Flight_961



At last few seconds prior to "touchdown" the left wing loses lift, sags, hits the water and causes the airplane to cartwheel and disintegrate...

I lost a cousin (my father's nephew from his sister) in that tragedy... May he RIP... He died on impact (was hit in the head by something - luggage from the overhead compartment?)... It was very ironic in a certain way as in a previous professional capacity my cousin headed ElAl security in a major European country...

I was pretty close to him... Not in the least due to the fact that we were both named after the same grandfather who was murdered in the Holocaust...

Since the day of that "Great Landing" I have considered Sully one of Americas greatest heros.....

Cool video.....thanks for sharing

hb

You certainly have to admire Captain Sullenberger and his coolness under the most extreme pressure, but I have always been impressed with the several air traffic controllers ability to professionally and calmly handle the situation from the ground.. I suspect they must have some sort of rehearsal they practice, but never the less it is impressive that each voice you hear (I assume some are pilots of other aircraft in the vicinity) is calm, professional, and knowledgeable.

Several years ago I met an ex ATC who says he was in the tower when Sullenberger's call came through.. he wasn't directly involved in the emergency, but he said he had to leave his job because he realized he couldn't take the stress of his job any longer. He sought relief with alcohol, and went through several years where he suffered from extreme depression. I suspect each of us wonders how we would respond in such an emergency. I pulled a woman out of an overturned pickup I saw drive into a ditch once. (She was the only female game warden in the state of GA, and rather attractive I might add.) I thought the truck was going to burn, thankfully it didn't, but I still get the willies thinking about the incident.

People rarely die falling off a stool. I've been to too many memorial services of friends who flew.

wmachovina wrote:I've been to too many memorial services of friends who flew.

There's flying and then there's flying... AFAIK commercial pilots (airlines, freight etc) have less chance of getting killed on the job then say a cab driver... Military flying is a different proposition altogether... Same for general aviation... In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that boating is more dangerous... Statistically speaking of course...