<p>A new article in the Times says majority was headed for NC, and there were 23 BofA employees on board of that flight (I noticed that quite a few of the people standing on the plane wings were professionally dressed).</p>
<p>Now it has been officially declared the “miracle on the Hudson” by ABC News. Maybe they thought those passengers really were walking on water. It is a wonder that no one was killed, but use of the word “miracle” when everything worked just as it should is a little over the top, IMO.</p>
<p>NYTimes posted an article about the flight and the pilot, Sully for short. Very close timing to the aniversary of the Air Florida disaster on the Potomac.</p>
<p>Just adding my words of relief that everything turned out so well. Ironically, I was in the process of booking a flight up to White Plains when all this was going on!. BTW, for those of you in the NY area, maybe we can try to coordinate another CC luncheon on Sat Feb 21 or Sun Feb 22?? (Sun. would have to be early-- our flight back out of HPN is at 6:29)</p>
<p>In addition to the tremendous skills of the pilot, I am filled with admiration for the various rescuers, from the police divers who saved two women from the water to the young female NY Waterway ferry boat captain who made it all sound like a day’s normal work. It also seems as though the airplane passengers themselves deserve lot of credit for their calm behavior, which is almost incomprehensible under the circumstances. </p>
<p>This is one of those times when New York really comes through at its shining best and makes you forget the dingy subways and chaotic midtown streets. I salute all those brave and competent people (some of whose names and accents don’t necessarily fit some politicians’ notion of what the “real America” is supposed to look like) who yesterday seemed to embody the best of the city and our country.</p>
<p>It was Governor Patterson who named this the “Miracle on the Hudson.” He said in his comments yesterday that “New York has its ‘Miracle on 34th Street’; now we have our ‘Miracle on the Hudson.’” </p>
<p>I think it’s apt.</p>
<p>BTW – has anyone seen an interview with the Captain yet? He hasn’t been anywhere, as far as I can see. And I watched the Today show this AM; for sure he would have been on there if he was anywhere.</p>
<p>I think Miracle is pretty apt. Usually when they do the whole spiel about the life vests on a flight I find myself thinking I have never heard of a plane crashing into water and anyone surviving. Most crashes the main purpose of the life vests seems to be to keep the bodies afloat for easier recovery. (that sound morbid but is the picture that comes into my mind from most news reports on planes crashing into water). So Miracle is fine by me - i bet those passengers have no problem with the term.</p>
<p>Bet a few people will actually listen to the pre takeoff lifejacket spiel - for a while at least. A mini miracle all on its own!</p>
<p>When I picked up hubby at Seatac last night, I noticed several TV news crews unloading their equipment. I bet they were hoping to interview someone who knew somebody on that plane for extra sensationalism and local twist.
I guess they did not find anyone there, but KING5 news reported from Seatac last night that the Seattle-bound folks who were supposed to board the jet in Charlotte paid a lot of attention to the flight attendants’ safety presentation when they finally got on board of a replacement plane.</p>
<p>Apparently the A320 has a “ditch” button, which retracts the flaps and attempts to seal as much of the airplane as possible from any water that could enter it. Still, in most cases just the impact alone of crashing into the water would destroy the airplane and render these systems useless. The fact is that unless this flight crew executed the landing perfectly, this airplane would have broken up and there likely would have been numerous fatalities. I don’t think that enough can be said about the job they did.</p>
<p>I don’t know if anyone here remembers seeing the video of the hijacked 767 that made a water landing in front of a resort off the coast of Africa a few years ago. The airplane ran out of fuel, lost both engines, and the attempted ditching was less than perfect. Lots of people died in that crash, and the survivors were the ones who were able to float in the warm atlantic until personal pleasure boats got there and rescued them. With the water temperature of the Hudson River being as cold as it was yesterday, it is likely that very few would have been plucked alive out of that water had a similar situation occurred.</p>
<p>BBC is reporting that after the impact, the captain waited until everyone had been evacuated, and then walked the cabin twice to make sure that everyone was safe. Only then did he look after his own safety and evacuate the aircraft. Wow.</p>