Comments on: Nice Bit of Work

By: SpazSinbad

SpazSinbad — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:02:05 +0000

Sully’s TAIL at: http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/39803372.html#
“Long before he won instant celebrity for his cool handling of the ditching of US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger had thought a lot about airline safety procedures. But when it came time to apply those lessons, he and his crew relied as much on instinct as on the playbook. Sullenberger spoke with Air & Space editor Linda Shiner on February 16, almost a month to the day after the dramatic events that earned him worldwide acclaim from fellow pilots and the public alike.”

By: Glenn Cassel AMH1(AW) Retired

Glenn Cassel AMH1(AW) Retired — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 07:17:47 +0000

I’m a little late but here goes. As a lotof you remember, I bad mouthed Airbuses during the Tanker Fiasco. I stand corrceted. That A320 that Captain Sully ditched in the Hudson River is in one piece, minus the Port Engine. Looks to be a pretty tough bird after all.

By: xformed

xformed — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 03:16:27 +0000

My bud the ‘Nam Huey “Slick”/AF C-141/Glider Instructor/Commercial Big Iron pilot buddy is completely awe stuck. Said “All of us airline pilots wished we’d do as well if it ever happened to us, but the stats show something different…” Asked me if I had heard of some award, begins with a “C” for the best airline pilot. Nope…”We’ll, I’m sure they are chiseling his name on it right now for 2009.”

And…I found a new toy for Lex to consider… made right north of him, too.

By: oldskydog

oldskydog — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:50:08 +0000

Being ever optimistict (not), I wonder how long it will be before some lawyer convinces one of the pax that it would be a slam-dunk to sue the airline, city and state of New York, NY Port Authority, and the FAA for failure to avoid and/or control the bird hazard, followed by the tree huggers and bird lovers suing for endangering wildlife.

By: oldskydog

oldskydog — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 02:41:55 +0000

I had recently left Kodiak when the p-3 ditching occurred. A good friend and former Navy type , BillPorter, was the AC of the C-130 (USCG) that was first on-scene. He coordinated the rescue assistance until he had to bingo for fuel.
As far as airline or multi-engine in general, the A320 ditching was the product of pragmatic thinking instead of the typical ” land at the nearest suitable airport” mindset ingrained by training. I have always had a problem with that mentality as opposed to getting it on the ground (or water) as soon as possible in certain situatiions like smoke in the cockpit or fire. I once watched an S-2 roll over and auger into the ground in the pattern at CRP after experiencing an engine fire. Instead of yanking the power and putting it down in a nicely plowed field in front of him, he turned downwind to return to the concrete and never made it through the crosswind turn as the fire burned through his controls. The mindset is not to consider the obvious as you would have to do in single engine with a welded seat.
These guys did great. Maybe the FAA and airline training geniuses will have to rethink a few things.

By: Oldschool

Oldschool — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:56:13 +0000

From the SUN a.m reporting:
“NTSB board member Kitty Higgins said.

Sullenberger recounted seeing his windshield filled with big, dark-brown birds.

“His instinct was to duck,” Higgins said, recounting their interview. Then there was a thump, the smell of burning birds, and silence as both aircraft engines cut out.

… decided it would be too dangerous to attempt a landing at the smaller Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.

“We can’t do it,” he told air traffic controllers. “We’re gonna be in the Hudson.”

Two flight attendants likened it to a hard landing — nothing more. There was one impact, no bounce, then a gradual deceleration.

It all happened so fast, the crew never threw the aircraft’s “ditch switch,” which seals off vents in the fuselage to make it more seaworthy. ”

If ya don’t train for the scenario, then the switch action(s) are not likely to be accomplished. By no means a criticism – only a curious situation where Airbus anticipates a ditch and builds a system for it – but the airlines maybe don’t train for it. Systems available but not used … in this case, apparently made no diff because the plane stayed together (more or less) and floated. Even a ditch switch won’t help if the bird cartwheels or the skin damage is great. First appearances are this suffered much skin damage but the floor above the baggage compartment etc maybe helped it float?

BTW – that ditching off Alaska back around 1980 or so – we were doing a mission in a WC-135B … not close enough to provide coverage although we did nudge that direction … but close enough to listen to events unfolding. Gave us pause to rethink our gear and procedures. We did not fly in exposure suits … only standard nomex.