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A former fighter pilot was hailed as the hero of the Hudson after he crash-landed a stricken US Airways jet in the river Thursday - and got everybody out alive.
Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was still drying off from the ordeal when Mayor Bloomberg sang his praises.
"He did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river," Bloomberg said of the veteran pilot who lives near San Francisco.
With water seeping into the plane, Sullenberger walked up and down the center aisle twice to make sure nobody was left before he fled the jet, the mayor said.
"He was the last one off the plane," Bloomberg said.
Gov. Paterson also praised the ferry boat operators and rescue workers who rushed over as the plane bobbed in the 40-degree water and plucked the passengers off the wings.
"We've had a miracle on the Hudson," Paterson said.
So how about that? This is probably going to end up being one of the best stories of the year. Former F-4 Phantom pilot, twenty+ years of commercial flying under his belt, manages to land a twin-engine commuter jet flying deadstick into a freezing river - and not a single fatality (not counting the geese).
This is amazing. This guy deserves some kind of medal, and so do those folks on the water taxis who immediately steered at flank speed for the splashdown site - probably expecting to see nothing more than debris and floating suitcases when they arrived.
For the pilot, a big to you sir.
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but yeah, I read that earlier today.... neat stuff. First thing that caught my attention was "Hudson" in the headlines on Yahoo.... I used to live in the Mid-Hudson Valley, right on the Hudson, but down here it's not something you hear often.
Putting an AirBus dead stick into the Hudson with no loss of life is flat miraculous. Testimony to the flight crew and airframe.
Dkoz, How do these things maintain control surface operation with no engine function ??? Aux hydraulics or what ???
Common strategies for aux hydraulic power, an electric pump, a hydraulic pump that pops out of the airplane and is windmill driven, a pump driven by a turbine APU. An A320 Airbus has a ramair driven gearotor pump.
FWIW, years ago, a Japanese pilot landed a jetliner in San Fransisco bay with the gear down and very little damage was done to the airframe. The theory was that the thing hydroplaned across the water for quite a distance before settling gracefully into the water. Reports are that the guy today also landed gear down with similar results. Conventional thinking has always been that landing, gear down, would catch the water and maybe even flip the plane over. They were wrong.
Alaskan bush pilots routinely land wheeled aircraft on the water and coast to the beach. They also start their takeoff run on land and continue out into the water. My neighbor, Lee Staley, has this procedure down cold. He is a very capable bush pilot and does it despite being a paraplegic with very limited use of his legs.
I must be one of the luckiest people on Earth. Over my lifetime I've known dozens and dozens of people with the most remarkable abilities and life stories; anyone of which would easily provide all the material you'd need to write a book. The big problem is that nobody would believe the largest share of them even though they're the God's honest truth.
This is definitely an amazing story. I saw a video on YouTube of that airliner that got hijacked, and ran out of fuel off the coast of some islands in Africa(?) - the pilot had her all lined up for a water landing, but the hijackers panicked and tried to wrest control of the airplane. Result: the thing hit wingtip first, spun out, and broke up before anyone knew what hit them. This guy in NYC, not being sure of the winds, the river conditions, the possibility of traffic on the river or obstructions like long piers or shallow sandbars, just set her down as neat as you please and 155 people just walked off the plane, and were all in rescue boats and water taxis within about ten or fifteen minutes. Incredible.
That was truly some awesome footage, and the pilot did an awesome job. I was shocked to see that big jet floating in the Hudson. There was an expert on the ABC evening news that said the pilot performed a textbook landing. Rather then risk not making it back to the airport and having to land in a heavily populated area, possibly injuring or killing hundreds of people, he made a great decision to set it down in the river. I never would've occurred to me that this was a textbook maneuver. I learn something new every day.
to that pilot.
__________________ The above post is my 2 cents....nothing more.
I can't add anything to the above praise. I fly over 100 segments a year and I'm always hopeful I have a Sullenberger type in the cockpit.
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I couldn't be happier at the turn of events. The last thing the city needed was another plane tragedy.. especially after Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle flew his plane into a building. With the engines being on fire, that was definitely the way to go. 2 months after the Sept 11th attacks, American Airlines flight 587 crashed in queens after takeoff and an engine that fell off clipped a building and killed a few people. Definite kudos to that pilot.. I can only imagine the view the people got that were driving down the Henry Hudson Parkway when that thing went down. I drive on it all the time.. wish I woulda seen it!
NTSB just said BOTH engines fell off. looking for them in the river now. gotta find em to prove the birds.
DAYUM! Both from friggin geese!? Even more credit to that pilot.. wonder if he's related to this guy who landed an F15 with one wing. (FF to 4:15 for a visual)
US Airways Flight 1549 
to you sir.
to that pilot.
Serious dog is serious. 
Even more credit to that pilot.. wonder if he's related to this guy who landed an F15 with one wing. (FF to 4:15 for a visual)
