DO TAKE TIME to watch the latest re-creations of this white-knuckle flight, its long glide down and perfect landing by Captain Sully (aka Cactus) in the Hudson River last winter. Amazing. Professionalism, coolness exhibited by all. Still, only by the Grace of God.
The moral of the story: Life can change on a dime. And often does. In millisecond. For all of us. Everyday. Are we ready?
In watching this again, I notice how quickly the captain realized---almost within seconds of the strike-- the plane was going down in the Hudson even even though he briefly considered going back to LaGuardia. Cactus inquired less than a minute later about Teterboro, but there was never a question that the only sane option for him was to glide his plane down over water where there were no buildings to crash into and land on the river. A quick decision that worked out, to say the least.
Kas Osterbuhr, an engineer at K3 Resources, has taken all the data released by the NTSB and used it to create -- recreate, actually -- the entire incident with an obsessive dedication to accuracy, and in astonishing detail, too.
When you're done, head over to Osterbuhr's website to view all the different videos and graphics he's made, using the information released by the feds. H/T
Every time I listen to the air traffic control tape(s), I am very moved by the professionalism of the controllers. They are moving through their day, they probably just finished chatting about the Mets on a coffee break: an emergency happens, and they have only a few seconds to react properly, and they do react as properly as possible. I find it moving. Also am moved by the fast action of the boat captains on the river, by their skill at maneuvering their boats right up to the plane, yet not crashing into either the plane or the people.
ReplyDeleteI find I am often moved by little things: little glimmers of God, of courage, of love or devotion. Sully is a big hero, and of course I've greatest admiration for him. Yet, it's the little people, acting all around him with professionalism and greatness, who get to me.
So well said, Greg. I couldn't agree with you more...behind every big hero like Sully there are lots of smaller unknown heros doing what life calls them to do on a moment's notice, as best they can.
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