OT Pilot in crash was Air Force Veteran

[piller]

The airplane coming out of New York which crashed in the Hudson river today was lucky to have a pilot who was as skilled as he was. This veteran of the Air Force was able to land it in the river without any loss of life. I must salute this hero. Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe it was his military service which gave him the skill and ability to think when in danger which saved everyone onboard.

[kimwcook]

I will stand beside you and give my salute too. Let's see him top that one. Quite the story to tell your relatives, either as the pilot, co-pilot, attendant or passenger.

[2571]

The pilot was a hero allright. Made 2 trips back in looking for anybody who got missed.

But I'm confused. What did you hear that makes you think it was his military background that helped him? He's had 19,000 hours in commercial aircraft, much, much less in military.

[Cast Bullet Hunter]

The pilot was a hero allright. Made 2 trips back in looking for anybody who got missed.

But I'm confused. What did you hear that makes you think it was his military background that helped him? He's had 19,000 hours in commercial aircraft, much, much less in military.

No question he did everything correct. FWIW nearly 100% of airline pilots have an Air Force background, did you (Piller) think there was something unique about this????????????

[handirifle]

He was an F4 pilot to be exact, that plus 28 years as a commercial pilot ALL worked together to give him the necessary skills to land it like he did. Eyewitnesses said had they not known there was a river there, it looked like he was on approach to arunway, NOT crashlanding in a river.

He had full flaps, and gear down! He did all he could to make the approach and water landing as SLOW as possible.

That alone makes him a hero, the fact that he did what he did to save passengers, makes it double so. He deserves the highest honor this country can give a civialian.

I'd like to see George W give it to him before he leaves office!

Not to be forgotten, the rest of the flight crew also did an OUTANDING job. Not an easy thing to do with the plane sinking and filling with 40 deg water.

Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, I too, would stand and salute you.

[bigbore442001]

Odd that you posted this. I listen to a talk radio show when I get out of work and the host was speaking about that issue regarding the crash landing. He commented that when he sees an older pilot with a crew cut he feels much safer than some young kid . I tend to agree on that.

[Gun Runner]

The pilot is from Danville CA. His hobby is training dogs for the Blind.

On a funny side of it on the Jay Leno show tonight: The air lines is now offering flights or cruises. A Rep. from the geese , say they were honking all the way.

I know several active and ex-military pilots as I live near Beale AFB. I would fly with them any time.

Gun Runner

[Noah Zark]

While I agree that it was a case of the right pilot at the right place at the right time, my respect for Airbus aircraft just went up appreciably. It's not the fault of Airbus that birds took out Rolls-Royce, GE, or P&W engines, but Airbus certainly can take credit for a strong airframe that held together as it struck the water in a controlled manner in the hands of a skilled pilot.

Formerly my mantra when flying commercially was "If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going," but I have to rethink that now.

Noah

[cshold]

He was an F4 pilot to be exact, that plus 28 years as a commercial pilot ALL worked together to give him the necessary skills to land it like he did. Eyewitnesses said had they not known there was a river there, it looked like he was on approach to arunway, NOT crashlanding in a river.

He had full flaps, and gear down! He did all he could to make the approach and water landing as SLOW as possible.

That alone makes him a hero, the fact that he did what he did to save passengers, makes it double so. He deserves the highest honor this country can give a civialian.

I'd like to see George W give it to him before he leaves office!

Not to be forgotten, the rest of the flight crew also did an OUTANDING job. Not an easy thing to do with the plane sinking and filling with 40 deg water.

Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, I too, would stand and salute you.

A++ I Agree

[Ysabel Kid]

That one was too close to home. I've taken that very flight, and I probably ride on US Airways 95% of my flights.

This is just an fine example of one of those unavoidable situations - the birds taking out the engines - where everyone involved did their jobs exactly the way they were trained, and the training paid off in the ultimate dividend - everyone survived. Kudos to the pilot, cockpit crew, flight crew, trainers, airplane designers and builders, airline - and the passengers for not losing their heads. Shows you what can be done when all the "little things" are done right.

[Griff]

He was an F4 pilot to be exact, that plus 28 years as a commercial pilot ALL worked together to give him the necessary skills to land it like he did. Eyewitnesses said had they not known there was a river there, it looked like he was on approach to arunway, NOT crashlanding in a river.
He had full flaps, and gear down! He did all he could to make the approach and water landing as SLOW as possible.
That alone makes him a hero, the fact that he did what he did to save passengers, makes it double so. He deserves the highest honor this country can give a civialian.
I'd like to see George W give it to him before he leaves office!
Not to be forgotten, the rest of the flight crew also did an OUTANDING job. Not an easy thing to do with the plane sinking and filling with 40 deg water.
Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, I too, would stand and salute you.

A++ I Agree

A++ I Agree also!

[Ysabel Kid]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090116/ap_ ... iver_pilot

[2571]

Pilot & crew deserve some formal recognition.

Not surprised that Pres.Bush didn't even mention it a few hours later although the tenor of his farewell gave him ample opportunity.

Were I been the pilot, I would prefer acknowledgment from the incoming president.

[Thunder50]

All I have been taught , as a pilot, is that when you are attempting a water landing, is that you leave the gear up. It would cause quite a bit of drag and cause the nose to come down faster. Whatever I was taught, that pilot did one fine job, and deserves any accolades he gets.

He deserves a BIG "atta-boy"!!

[J Miller]

I'm not sure how deep the water is at that point, but with the gear down the plane wouldn't sink as deep. He "may" have been thinking of that too.

Just a thought.

Joe

[piller]

I need to find the link and post it, but he also had glider pilot training in the Air Force from what I read. That, plus the fact that he went back twice to make sure noone was left behind is why I think his military training was so significant.

[jeepnik]

He was an F4 pilot to be exact, that plus 28 years as a commercial pilot ALL worked together to give him the necessary skills to land it like he did. Eyewitnesses said had they not known there was a river there, it looked like he was on approach to arunway, NOT crashlanding in a river.

He had full flaps, and gear down! He did all he could to make the approach and water landing as SLOW as possible.

That alone makes him a hero, the fact that he did what he did to save passengers, makes it double so. He deserves the highest honor this country can give a civialian.

I'd like to see George W give it to him before he leaves office!

Not to be forgotten, the rest of the flight crew also did an OUTANDING job. Not an easy thing to do with the plane sinking and filling with 40 deg water.

Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, I too, would stand and salute you.

Well, well. A Phantom jockey. Makes sense, the ones I knew were pretty fair sticks.

[RAC]

The pilot was a hero allright. Made 2 trips back in looking for anybody who got missed.

But I'm confused. What did you hear that makes you think it was his military background that helped him? He's had 19,000 hours in commercial aircraft, much, much less in military.

No question he did everything correct. FWIW nearly 100% of airline pilots have an Air Force background, did you (Piller) think there was something unique about this????????????

Cast bullet Hunter, what is your definition of nearly 100% of pilots having a Air Force background? I assume you would also include all the armed forces including the Navy, Cost Guard, Marines, and Army? Where did you get that information? You might be surprised at how many civilian pilots are employed by the airlines. Kudos to the Captain, First officer and Flight Attendants. They did an excellent job. One thing that hasn't been brought up is who was actually flying the aircraft. It could very well be the Captain but there is a 50% probability that it could have been the First Officer. If the FO was flying, did the Captain take control and land the aircraft? Probably not but we won't know until the debrief.

[RAC]

He was an F4 pilot to be exact, that plus 28 years as a commercial pilot ALL worked together to give him the necessary skills to land it like he did. Eyewitnesses said had they not known there was a river there, it looked like he was on approach to arunway, NOT crashlanding in a river.

He had full flaps, and gear down! He did all he could to make the approach and water landing as SLOW as possible.

That alone makes him a hero, the fact that he did what he did to save passengers, makes it double so. He deserves the highest honor this country can give a civialian.

I'd like to see George W give it to him before he leaves office!

Not to be forgotten, the rest of the flight crew also did an OUTANDING job. Not an easy thing to do with the plane sinking and filling with 40 deg water.

Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, I too, would stand and salute you.

Handirifle, you SURE he landed gear down? Would you mind posting a link to that? Thanks,
RAC

[BlueStateSaint]

He was an F4 pilot to be exact, that plus 28 years as a commercial pilot ALL worked together to give him the necessary skills to land it like he did. Eyewitnesses said had they not known there was a river there, it looked like he was on approach to arunway, NOT crashlanding in a river.

He had full flaps, and gear down! He did all he could to make the approach and water landing as SLOW as possible.

That alone makes him a hero, the fact that he did what he did to save passengers, makes it double so. He deserves the highest honor this country can give a civialian.

I'd like to see George W give it to him before he leaves office!

Not to be forgotten, the rest of the flight crew also did an OUTANDING job. Not an easy thing to do with the plane sinking and filling with 40 deg water.

Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, I too, would stand and salute you.

Handirifle, you SURE he landed gear down? Would you mind posting a link to that? Thanks,
RAC

Gotta agree with you--from what I heard, he landed with the gear up. Makes for a smoother landing (nothing to catch a random wave, or piece of debris in the water), and also makes for a "bottom" of the now-"boat" that doesn't have any holes in it, the better to keep the plane afloat long enough to get everyone off.

[Mike D.]

I would've loved to see a video of the water "landing". He had to have come in tail down to induce a slowing drag effect before letting the craft settle slowly as possible to it's belly. To do otherwise could cause tumbling, with few survivors. It is a miracle that the plane was completely intact after the hard landing on the Hudson. Whoever was in control of the Airbus is a true hero.

[jeepnik]

Gotta give some credit to the folks that built it, as well. While I'm sure they never tested it for water landings, it proved the value of good engineering.

[marlinman93]

He is definitely a hero, and one heck of an experienced pilot. There's much more to this than his short time as an Air Force jockey. He's got tons of experience, cool demeaner (according to others who've flown with him) and also owns his own safety consulting firm to train others in the industry on safe handling of flights.
All this together is what made him do everything right when it came down to a real life scenario. Most commercial pilots are ex military, and not all of them could have come out of this the way this pilot did.-
He'd actually have to do numerous things to make a perfect crash landing in water. First he'd need to come down almost flat, as even slightly nose up or down, or canted to one side would have caused the plane to tumble, or cartwheel. He also needed to retract the landing gear (which he did) and on that model close all the openings in the belly, which he also did. The model is designed to be airtight when a switch is flipped to make a water crash landing. Indeed very well designed for more than just flying. Vall