Plane went down in NYC! Everyone ok

[ABSTRUSE]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090115/ap_on_re_us/plane_in_river

 

[redpaint]

I just flew on that airline little over a month ago. Glad no one was sreulsew hurt.

 

[Huckleman2000]

I've been watching the disaster porn on MSNBC, and it's been quite amazing to see and hear about. No one died, and many people performing their jobs with extraordinary composure and competence.

 

[SeaCat]

Been watching streaming video of it for the past hour. Glad all are okay. From what I have been hearing it sounds like that pilot deserves a medal for his actions.

Cat

 

[Belegon]

I agree. Based on the eyewitness accounts I've heard, the pilot did a fantastic job easing that plane down. Also, credit to the flight crew for getting all the passengers prepared and keeping everybody calm enough to get off safely.

 

[amicus]

Captain Sullenberger is the name I heard for the pilot of that aircraft and it appears he did an amazing job. The reports say a flock of geese was ingested by both engines shortly after take-off and all power to the aircraft was lost.

It is most amazing to me as I have a scene of a commercial aircraft ditching in the ocean in one of my novels and I thought I was stretching the plot to have all survive the crash.

A public "WELL DONE!" to the Pilot and crew.

Amicus...

 

[Huckleman2000]

Not to politicize, but merely to point out -
Both pilots and all crew staff are unionized workers.

 

[Katyusha]

I kept hearing the terms "went down," and "crashed," and the like until I turned on World News Tonight and watched their report on it. The pilot has 10 years fighter jet experience, 30 years experience as a commercial pilot, is a consultant for the National Transportation Safety Board and has also consulted for NASA. He knew EXACTLY what to do...and he did it very well. When I heard all this my thoughts turned from "crash," to "landed, but landed in the water." The plane went into the river with its nose up; rough landing for everyone but it could have been so much worse. The pilot, the rescuers, everyone who worked to keep those people from dying upon impact, drowning inside the plane or dying of hypothermia in the river, is a hero in my book.

 

[Katyusha]

Not to politicize, but merely to point out -
Both pilots and all crew staff are unionized workers.

And that has what to do with this?

 

[DesertPirate]

And that has what to do with this?

Absolutely nothing!

The fact he was a fighter pilot and has 30 years experience in commercial aviation is what saved those people.
That man has one hell of a touch!

 

[Katyusha]

Absolutely nothing!

The fact he was a fighter pilot and has 30 years experience in commercial aviation is what saved those people.
That man has one hell of a touch!

Yep.

 

[TE999]

I heard reference to the fact that the freezing temperatures thickened the water making it easier to land upon it and not cartwheel...plus the fact that the pilot approached at just the right angle...tail down slightly...that the plane settled right in and stayed afloat.

The passengers were orderly as well...prolly prepped by the pilots and flight attendants.

A truly exceptional splashdown.

 

[Katyusha]

I heard reference to the fact that the freezing temperatures thickened the water making it easier to land upon it and not cartwheel...

Eh? I didn't think water thickened appreciably between warm and cold...not enough to make a difference in what a plane would do upon landing on it; thought that was one of the unique properties of water vs. other liquids.

ETA: I'm seriously not trying to turn this into a physics discussion here.

 

[TE999]

Eh? I didn't think water thickened appreciably between warm and cold...not enough to make a difference in what a plane would do upon landing on it; thought that was one of the unique properties of water vs. other liquids.

ETA: I'm seriously not trying to turn this into a physics discussion here.

You're prolly right...I was paraphrasing what one reporter said...he wasn't Bill Nye, so he could have been wrong...or meant something else.

 

[Huckleman2000]

Absolutely nothing!

The fact he was a fighter pilot and has 30 years experience in commercial aviation is what saved those people.
That man has one hell of a touch!

Nothing, except the ongoing training and experience gained in, and because of, 30 years of union work, after 7 or 8 years of training as a government employee. Not to mention the ongoing training of the cabin crew.

Sooner or later, probably in the next several months , someone is going to make snarky remarks about unionized workers being bad for companies and bad for consumers.

When that happens, think of this incident.

 

[Katyusha]

Nothing, except the ongoing training and experience gained in, and because of, 30 years of union work, after 7 or 8 years of training as a government employee. Not to mention the ongoing training of the cabin crew.

Sooner or later, probably in the next several months , someone is going to make snarky remarks about unionized workers being bad for companies and bad for consumers.

When that happens, think of this incident.

[threadjack]
No...his training comes from FAA mandates, not because he and his crew are unionized. ALL pilots are required to undergo a certain number of hours of simulator training EACH MONTH for scenarios just like this BY THE FAA...because they can die a thousand times in the simulator trying to figure out what to do in life-or-death situations, and then they can practice the proper responses until they could do it in their sleep.

Also, ALL pilots and flight attendants are unionized.

He knew what to do because of his experience and his federally mandated training. Would younger pilots with less experience have been able to do that same thing in that same way? Perhaps, perhaps not, that depends solely on them and how well and quickly they learn. He's a very, very skilled pilot who did a more than admirable job today, but it has nothing whatsoever with his being a member of a union. The FAA would still have these mandates in place.

I don't want to turn this into a political thread either so this will be my last post on the subject of these unions.[/threadjack]

 

[Huckleman2000]

[threadjack]
No...his training comes from FAA mandates, not because he and his crew are unionized. ALL pilots are required to undergo a certain number of hours of simulator training EACH MONTH for scenarios just like this BY THE FAA...because they can die a thousand times in the simulator trying to figure out what to do in life-or-death situations, and then they can practice the proper responses until they could do it in their sleep.

Also, ALL pilots and flight attendants are unionized.

He knew what to do because of his experience and his federally mandated training. Would younger pilots with less experience have been able to do that same thing in that same way? Perhaps, perhaps not, that depends solely on them and how well and quickly they learn. He's a very, very skilled pilot who did a more than admirable job today, but it has nothing whatsoever with his being a member of a union. The FAA would still have these mandates in place.

I don't want to turn this into a political thread either so this will be my last post on the subject of these unions.[/threadjack]

Where do you suppose the impetus for those FAA regulations came from? I'll give you a hint: It wasn't from the commercial airlines.

 

[amicus]

Spewing the party line during this thread is truly petty and obnoxious and I notice you insist on blowing your horn regardless.

There is an ethic and a morality inherent in the free market, that on protecting ones' assets and investments through proper training and sufficient safety standards.

It has nothing to do with the corrupt union practices that simply unite for higher wages and a larger piece of the pie, earned or not.

Once again the Marxist effort to create and maintain a friction between labor and management and the rest of the population, 'class warfare', an oft used tactic in the continuing conflict between good and evil.

I applaud the individuals involved, as is proper; courageous, brave people, skilled aand expert at their professions because they individually chose to be, not because some union boss intruded in demanding safety procedures.

Amicus...