Sully's America (Great Nation Rises In Bad Times)

Boston Herald ^ | January 18, 2009 | Michael Graham

[tx_eggman]

Sully also had enough wits about him in those few terrifying seconds, to engage the unique Airbus emergency watertight control, shutting all intake to the fuselage, except of course for the doors.

Not according to this article:

Linky Thing: AP Article - Flight 1549

It happened so fast, the pilots never had time to throw the aircraft's "ditch switch," which seals off vents and holes in the fuselage to make it more seaworthy.

[FrankR]

"...the plane had JUST TAKEN OFF, it wasn't high..."

In aviation, there is a saying, "There is safety in altitude". And even though it had "JUST TAKEN OFF", the takeoff is generally the most dangerous part of a flight, as there is very little room to "glide" if you lose power during that phase of the flight. The phrase, "it wasn't high" is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard said about an airliner.

Altitude gives the pilot more choices of landing spots, as there would be more glide time to a safer place to set it down.

A whole lot of circumstances were just right for this particular flight - and that is in no way a slight to the pilot, he did a miraculous job of landing that plane...and it was a landing, not a crash.

And, you're right...it was his job and what he was trained for; I would imagine that the Hudson River is pointed out in their training as an alternate landing area for that airport, as well. But being trained in a simulator, and actually pulling it off with 150 souls on board is a different thing altogether.

So, the "hooplah" about this pilots achievement and skills is well justified. It's not about whether he did his job, but how well he did his job. Looking around at today's workforce, I think more "hooplah" should be made about how a lot of people do their jobs.

But the press will probably get around to trashing the pilot pretty soon, doing background checks, and camping outside of his house. And, if he didn't vote for obama, they'll probably crucify him. But, that's what the press does...if they can't say something bad about a person, they won't say anything at all.

I'm sure - had you been on that plane - you would equate it to a "national achievement" as well. I think he should get every award available for what he did.

[MarkL]

I'm going to say something and there are some here that won't like it, but here goes...I find the hooplah about this landing a bit much. Yes, it was great.

HOWEVER, the plane had JUST TAKEN OFF, it wasn't high...the pilot DID HIS JOB...what he was trained for. And he did it correctly. I think it's symbolic of how low our country feels that we take something like this and make it a national achievement. It shows how much we need success in this country and how much we're looking for heroes.

Mark my words, the press will bring this guy down a bit..knock him off his perch. THAT'S the real America of today.

I agree with you, regarding what the press will do to him if he "steps out of line." And I agree that the reason he's being lionized is because the American public is so starved for a "real" hero - unfortunately there are plenty, but with our media, we never hear of them.

However, the whole incident has made me hopeful. Because I believe that what we witnessed in this incident is a REAL, honest to G-d MIRACLE! Think about this for a second. How many water "ditchings" of passenger planes have had NO loss of life in history? I don't believe that there have been any. Ever. I believe that this landing was every bit as miraculous as the one in Sioux City, IA (where unfortunately there was a great loss of life, but it was nowhere as bad as it could have, or for that matter, should have been). In that case, there have been simulations run over and over again, and no pilot has ever been able to keep the plane from crashing on landing. I believe that this will be the same.

And this is why I'm hopeful. As bad as things might look for our country, if a miracle like this has happened, then I can believe that The Lord has NOT abandoned us (the US, as a country), and that there is hope for the future.

Mark

[NVDave]

I would inject tho (and I’ve taken SEL training, so I know what you’re saying) that the ATP license has a moral component to it last I looked:

Sec. 61.151 Eligibility requirements: General.

To be eligible for an airline transport pilot certificate, a person must—
(a) Be at least 23 years of age;
(b) Be able to read, speak, write, and understand the English language.
(c) Be of good moral character;
(d) Meet at least one of the following requirements:

Here, I would say that his actions clearly show why item (c) is in the requirements.

[FormerACLUmember]

I stand corrected. This was different from earlier print reports. (That pesky Internet)

[Thermalseeker]

"It happened so fast, the pilots never had time to throw the aircraft's "ditch switch,"

From 3000' agl in that bird I'm surprised he had the time to warn the passengers to brace for impact, not to mention the presence of mind to remember to warn them. They wouldn't have had enough time to get past the first couple of items on the ditch check list. I'm sure he was one very busy man at the time.....

[NVDave]

That’s the other thing that needs to be said: the ferry captains didn’t sit around, waiting for orders. The first ferry was enroute from the pier to the plane only about 15 seconds after the plane had come to a stop in the water.

The ferry captains clearly saw what needed to be done and just did it. They didn’t wait for the Coasties to ask, they didn’t wait for orders from their bosses - they just converged on the crash ASAP.

[Thermalseeker]

Here, I would say that his actions clearly show why item (c) is in the requirements.

Yep, I remember that from the Rules and Regs class I took at Embry-Riddle. I always wondered how they measure "good moral character". However, looking at this guy's biography, I can see he exceeds item C with huge margins to spare....

[Mr. Jeeves]

Commercial airline pilots and ferry captains save the live of 150 private citizens without the permission of their bosses, without the assistance and direction of the government, and without the interference of the news media.

That's true. If they had gone down in San Francisco Bay, it would have taken a week to do the environmental impact study before any rescue boats would have been allowed to approach the plane. ;)

[mick]

Thank you for stating these facts. My son is an FO for Republic. And what you have said is true. And exactly what my son has told me.

The man deserves every accolade he is getting because in the final analysis the value of any man is to do his duty as best he can. And any good pilot would have done his duty to try to bring that plane in safely.

But this pilot did his duty AND SUCCEDDED. Two different things. And that is my definition of a Hero.

[Hardastarboard]

Wasn’t this a dead stick landing? In a fully loaded Aerobus, as I understand it, that’s more of a miracle than raising the dead. Please reply - I’m interested in your take on this.

[They'reGone2000]

Picking up on your use of the word "incident":

I heard his wife interviewed briefly on the news on a San Francisco radio station yesterday morning.

She said that she didn't worry about his safety on a day to day basis because he had told her long ago that it is very very rare for a professional pilot to have a major incident in the course of his career.

When he called her after the river "landing" he said, "There's been an incident."

Cool dude!

[bvw]

As we see with the Marxist Usurper, eligibility requirements mean zed, zero, zilch when the authorities refuse to enforce them. Thanks to those other other heroes -- unknown -- who enforce these good regulations.

Indeed, what makes a hero these days of the Cult?

Any man or woman who does his duty!

[BenLurkin]

"helping the women and children off first. "

A sign that perhaps some part of America still lives.

BTW -- notice how the women libs types havn't complained?

[sazerac]

How often do we hear of people doing a great job? People just don’t seem to be too competent anymore. This man has my total respect.

[BenLurkin]

They have already slimed him by comparing Hussein to him.

[MSSC6644]

They have already slimed him by comparing Hussein to him.

The first thing I thought when I saw that headline, comparing the Obamanation to Sully was, Obama could never have done something like this. It required the ability to actually DO something. W could have, maybe -- at least he has the skills -- but not BOH. Is this another difference between conservatives and socialists?

[Thermalseeker]

Wasn’t this a dead stick landing? In a fully loaded Aerobus, as I understand it, that’s more of a miracle than raising the dead.

If both engines were indeed "out", i.e., producing no usable power, then yes, it was a true "dead stick" landing. This is big issue for most smaller aircraft, but one that is manageable in most incidences. However, these large commercial aircraft are not designed to land with full fuel. They can take off with full fuel, but they do not land with full fuel because the airplane would be too heavy for the landing gear to take the stress of the extra weight in all but perfect landings. This is one reason why the pilots try to "dump" fuel if a forced landing is eminent. Dumping fuel is high on the check list, but I don't think the Captain had much time to dump fuel.

Airplanes don't just fall out of the sky when they lose power. Aerodynamic principles remain the same as when they are under power, but gravity becomes the engine. Most airliners will "glide" in an engine out situation in the range of 12 or 15 to one. This means that for every foot they descend they will go forward 12 to 15 feet. A typical standard class competition glider will glide at more like 45 to 1. The real key here, though is the rate of decent, or sink rate as we call it. I don't know for sure what the engine out sink rate is for the A-320, but it has to be in the neighborhood of 2000 feet per minute. A typical standard class competition glider will have a sink rate of about 120 feet per minute. 2000 feet per minute is about the maximum rate of decent that I can achieve in my glider without pulling the wings off of it when my spoilers fully deployed and the nose pointed about 45 degrees down. I can tell you that the ground is coming up very fast to "greet" you at this rate of decent.

Another factor to consider is the drag that will be imposed on the airframe as soon as it touches the water. If this pilot had been off of wings level by more than a few degrees at touchdown one engine or a wing tip would have hit first causing massive drag on one side. The result would have been very different. Very likely if there had been any bank angle at all at touchdown the airplane would have cartwheeled and everyone on board probably would have died instantly.

As I said before, this guy, along with the flight crew, the ferry pilots, NYPD, and FDNY deserve every bit of kudos they are getting. I've seen the video of this event a dozen times now and I'm still amazed everyone walked away.

[BenLurkin]

"Obama could never have done something like this. It required the ability to actually DO something."

Well said!

[Hildy]

At the very least, I’m thrilled Capt. Sully has stolen some of the useless and overrated Obama’s thunder. I hope he continues to do so.

I couldn't agree with you more.