I guess that miracles…
You may be watching the proceedings on TV right now, as I am. Amazing visuals, astounding story, with what appears to be an against-all-odds happy ending.
The New Neo
A blog about political change, among other things
You may be watching the proceedings on TV right now, as I am. Amazing visuals, astounding story, with what appears to be an against-all-odds happy ending.
yup
Simply amazing! Given the weather today my thoughts immediately went back to the crash in DC several years ago. Those images of the people being hauled from the water in the bitter cold are haunting still. Thankfully this time around there was a much preferable outcome for everyone.
If you believe that the survival was abetted by supernatural means, you might ask why the supernatural entity in question didn’t go for the less spectacular option of keeping the geese out of the engines.
It was the skill of the pilots and crew and the design of the aircraft that allowed the plane to land in the water and the passengers to escape.
Hyman Rosen: “Miracle” has several definitions:
* (n) miracle (any amazing or wonderful occurrence)
* S:(n) miracle (a marvellous event manifesting a supernatural act of a divine agent)
Take your pick.
Why didn’t God keep the geese out of the engines? Well, let’s ask why WE didn’t keep the geese out of the engines. That’s something we can control. Unfortunately, the environmentalists have interfered with efforts to keep bird flocks away from airports. Every time you hear complaints of the “harrassing” of “wildlife”, remember this accident, an accident probably did not have to happen.
It should be noted that birds that are sucked into the engines also die. Scaring them away from the airport also protects them.
On the flip side, let us be thankful for the operators of ferries and excursion ships who remembered that they are sailors first of all, and that they have both the obligation and the authority to stop what they are doing and save life on the water.
I can’t imagine watching the news and hearing a loved ones flight number and destination described as going down. These people will view life differently after today. And some wont get anything from it and call lawyers tomorrow.
Miracle cheapens it — perhaps it was due to good engineering, good piloting, and good rescue training, and good passengers, and low altitude — to give it all to the notion of the divine says we can’t have success without that some supernatural assistance.
The flight crew deserve many kudos. They made quick but correct decisions under pressure all the while flying the aircraft to a successful water landing.
One minute after takeoff they experience double engine failure. Think about it. This is not supposed to happen. They had seconds to grasp the enormity of the situation, transition from a powered climb to power-off a glide, inform ATC that they had an emergency, and were going down. They saw Teterboro and headed for it, but quickly realized they couldn’t make it. Another quick decision – there’s the river. Don’t like a water landing, but it beats trying to find a decent place on land. Make a quick announcement to the passengers and flight attendants. Then it’s just maintaining proper airspeed and attitude to make a successful water touchdown. Not an easy thing as depth perception is not as good over water. The plane hits the water with the wings level and still flying. But it decelerates rapidly – a very high G-force stop. The stays intact and .floats No one is seriously hurt – just bumps, bruises and a few broken bones. Windows and doors are opened, life rafts are inflated. People who paid attention to the emergency briefing don inflatable vests, and people move rapidly, with minimal panic, to egress the aircraft. All this happens within five minutes of takeoff.
Boats on the river see the plane go down. The operators immediately spring into action going to the aid of the downed aircraft. Some people get soaked and all are very cold, but the boats work efficiently in picking people up. All passengers and crew are picked up and within 40 minutes of takeoff most are safe back on the shore.
Wow! American skill, ingenuity, and willingness to do what’s necessary turn what could have been a disaster into a serious but non-fatal accident. This one is a textbook example of how things should be done. The accident investigation may find some errors – they always do – however, it’s hard to argue with success.
One saving thing was that it was daylight and good weather. A similar situation in heavy precipitation, low ceilings, fog, or at night would be a much different kettle of fish.
perhaps it was due to good engineering, good piloting, and good rescue training, and good passengers, and low altitude
The low altitude wasn’t a good thing. That was the threat.
To have that many ‘goods’ in one place at a good time is nothing short of miraculous.
Believing in ‘the devine’ takes nothing from the pilot, or the rescuers or the passengers. Sometimes we are our own miracles and that is devine.
Excellent, excellent airmanship.
in extremis, no one ever knows which small actions, or errors, will doom us or save us, and no one will ever know what prompted one action or the other, not even the actors.
I work in military aviation safety and I’ve read tons of accident reports. I am a connoisseur of disasters and accidents.
Upon reflection after the event, not even the actors can tell you precisely why they did one small thing and not another. A pilot follows checklists and rehearsed procedures, but in extremis there are still small actions, stick movements, commands, ignored commands and improvisation….
No one knows how to untangle the divine from the human.
Jimmy J & Gray…what do you guys think of the trend toward simulator-based training as a substitute for cockpit experience? I understand that there are commuter airline copilots being hired with as litle as 500 hours, most of it in simulators, as part of intensive training programs. Excellent simulators, to be sure, certified as high fidelity, but still, the psychology of flying a simulator has to be different from the psychology of fying an airplane.
A lot went into this successful outcome. The cocpit crew obviously performed beautifully.
The cabin crew has not recieved the recognition they deserve–so far. They must have done an outstanding job of directing the evacuation. Put yourself in the place of those girls (and maybe a guy or two). People frequently under-value Flight Attendants, but they are well trained and dedicated to the safety aspect of their jobs. I had one Captain friend who always introduced them over the Public Address as Cabin Safety Specialists.
I would weigh in on simulator training as a (retired) airplane driver and in-flight instructor, as well as a simulator instructor. British Airways for a long time would not hire a pilot with more than a couple of hundred hours because they did not want to have to train out bad habits. So, the idea is not too far-fetched. If you do that you have to invest more time in a simulator than the typical airline wishes to. And, of course BA was in an environment in which a new pilot would spend several years in a subordinate role. Times have changed a bit with the explosion (oops) of Regional airlines because Captain status has been achieved very rapidly. (That is probably changing with the economic downturn.) So much of flying time has become ultra routine, that the accumulation of a large number of hours has been devalued a bit. I do think that experience in a variety of situations, other than flying up and down the airways, is worthwhile to bring to the simulator program. I am a big believer in military experience, but that is becoming rare. I am also a big believer in the simulator. You simply cannot set up the situations in an airplane that you can in a simulator, where you have the option to drill over and over on the worst case situations. (One situation you aren’t required to drill on is ditching, beause that is not supposed to happen. But, for an experieced hand, that scenario could well have been thrown in informally on occasion to spice up the routine. Would be interesting to know.)
This Captain has been through many full blown simulator courses over the years as he changed from one airplane type to another. He has also been through refresher courses and tests in the simulator once or twice a year for over 25 years. He is at the pinnacle of his ability. Lucky passengers. Just think until recent changes in the law he would face mandatory retirement in 3 years. Even so, he will have to have a younger pilot in the cockpit to monitor him if he flies between age 60 and age 65. He, as he has since becoming a Captain, had an FAA approved medical exam every six months to make sure he can still see the intruments and that his heart is still beating.
Miracle is not too strong of a word. Professionalism is defintely an appropriate word.
One more comment to David Foster, despite my very long post above.
The pyschologoy of the simulator transfers to the airplane. You have been drilled and tested so much that you are quite confident in your ability to handle situations. Of course, many times the situation is one that you have seen countless times, but, even in a unique case like this one you have been pychologically prepared to cope with the unexpected.
Oldflyer…thanks. The kind of psychological factor I’m thinking of is schedule pressure vs weather. Can the schedule pressure really be made as meaningful in a simulator as it is when you have a planeload of increasingly-irritated passengers (or an irritated customer for a freight flight) and your management is wondering why you’ve cancelled or diverted so many times lately?
david foster,
The simulator training transfers quite well to the airplane. The sims are really realistic and though you know you are not going to die if you don’t do the emergency correctly, there is still a lot of pressure because you don’t want to fail the sim check. Most pilots’ self worth and identity are tied up in how competent they are. Lots of practice, study, and effort go into being a top-notch, competent pilot. The best are willing to do the work to try to stand out. Captain Sullenberger was apparently one of those pilots.
All that said there will be emergencies where, no matter how skilled the pilots are, the result is going to be a tragedy. So, there is a lot to be said for luck, karma, or whatever one wants to call fortuitous circumstances such as those in yesterday’s accident.
Gray is right. Even though you have practiced and thought about all kinds of emergencies, each one is a little different and has nuances that are not predictable. Human reactions are similarly different in different settings. That is one reason why all accidents are analysed to see what can be done to prevent the same thing in the future.
As to schedule pressure – I never felt it when I was flying. Safety was always the top priority in my mind. I was, after all, going to be the first one to arrive at the scene of the accident. Self preservation is always a very strong motivator toward safety I never experienced management pressure to take airplanes with maintenance problems, nor to fly in dangerous weather. That may be happening now, but I doubt if it is much of a factor on airlines where the Air Line Pilot’s Association is strong. You can dislike unions for their effects on wages and prices, but one thing about ALPA is that they stand behind their members in issues of safety. In fact ALPA has been responsible for many safety improvements in airline operations.
I hope this answers some of your questions.
Jimmy J & Gray…what do you guys think of the trend toward simulator-based training as a substitute for cockpit experience?
What Jimmy J said!
I defer entirely to him on this–he’s a pilot. I’m not, though I do work with and for Air Force pilots.
Oddly enough, I’ve actually never wanted to be a pilot. I was an Infantry Soldier in the Army and that’s really my passion…
But I’ve got tons of respect for pilots of all stripes. It’s a Calling.