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Miracle on the Hudson

Miracle on the Hudson

Someone get these guys a beer.

Everything about the fate of Flight 1549 seemed like a million-to-1 shot — a flock of birds crossing a jetliner’s path and taking out both engines, a safe landing in the Hudson River by a former fighter pilot. As amazement about the “miracle on the Hudson” turned to questions, a team of 20 National Transportation Safety Board investigators began looking into how Thursday’s bizarre near-disaster happened.

The pilot guided the hobbled US Airways jetliner over New York City and into the frigid river, with an impact one passenger described as little worse than a rear-end collision. All 155 on board were pulled to safety as the plane slowly sank.

… It was a chain of improbability. Birds tangle with airplanes regularly but rarely bring down commercial aircraft. Jet engines sometimes fail — but both at once? Pilots train for a range of emergencies, but few, if any, have ever successfully ditched a jet in one of the nation’s busiest waterways without any life-threatening injuries.

“We had a miracle on 34th Street. I believe now we have had a miracle on the Hudson,” Gov. David Paterson said.

If the accident was hard to imagine, so was the result: Besides one victim with two broken legs, there were no other reports of serious injuries to the 155 people aboard.

“You’re happy to be alive, really,” 23-year-old passenger Bill Zuhoski said.

… The 150 passengers and five crew members were forced to escape as the plane quickly became submerged up to its windows in 36-degree water. Dozens stood on the aircraft’s wings on a 20-degree day, one of the coldest of the winter, as commuter ferries and Coast Guard vessels converged to rescue them.

One ferry, the Thomas Jefferson of the company NY Waterway, arrived within minutes. Riders grabbed life vests and rope and tossed them to plane passengers in the water.

“They were cheering when we pulled up,” Capt. Vincent Lombardi. “People were panicking. They said, `Hurry up! Hurry up!'”

Two police scuba divers said they pulled a woman from a lifeboat “frightened out of her mind” and lethargic from hypothermia. Helen Rodriguez, a paramedic who was among the first to arrive at the scene, said she saw one woman with two broken legs.

Paramedics treated at least 78 patients, many for hypothermia, bruises and other minor injuries, fire officials said. Some of the shivering survivors were swaddled in blankets, their feet and legs soaked.

I gotta say, this was an incredible job by the pilot and the crew. Double bird strikes, complete engine failure, over one of the heaviest populated cities in the world, and the pilot was able to bring down the plane safely without any major injuries. On top of that, the crew clearly reacted quickly, getting everyone out of the sinking plane. Then, you have the boat captains who came over to help of their own free will.

155 people on the plane, and 155 people alive. Simply amazing. Just an incredible, heroic story.

Like I said, somebody get these guys a beer.

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4 Comments
  • Big Al says:

    It is amazing. Pilots are trained to do just what this one did, but even with that training one doesn’t expect the outcome to be this successful. Mostly your concern is with saving as many lives as you can, the possibility that no-one would be lost in an accident such as this is just about unheard of. Even ditching a small plane the risk of in jury or death is high.

    This also speaks well as to just how well built modern aircraft are. That a low wing jet aircraft with engines hanging below wouldn’t have at least shed it’s wings, or fractured its tailsection off would have been a miracle a few years back. That’s good engineering and design now! The dang thing never even sunk!

  • I R A Darth Aggie says:

    Hey, any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

  • spike says:

    this speaks to the incredible engeineering of the plane’s designers, the cool head and steady hand of the pilot, and the presence of the One who started the ‘miracle’ industry…

  • CaptDMO says:

    Without doubt, kudos to the Captain and Co.
    Kudos to the crew that apparently handled the situation as if by instinct.
    Kudos to the passengers of all personalities for not feaking out more than was reasonable, and cooperating to the benefit of all. (Congress, please take note)

    Kudos to the “bystanders”, piloting ferry boats that apparently just said “Let’s Roll” in unison.
    Kudos to ALL the Emergency Response folk, that barely had a chance to
    dust off their training because the million-to-one odds that conspired to cause an event that typically has atrocious results, was treated with a subsequent million-to-one set of circumstances where
    everyone apparently did EXACTLY the right thing to address
    the problem.

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