This guy is the Chuck Yeager of the 21st century. Capt. C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger is the sort of aviator we all hope is holding the controls when something goes wrong.
Talk about a scary incident. This could have ended about a dozen other ways, all of them bad. The fact that Sully and the crew performed perfectly is a testament to their training and experience.
The immediate and coordinated response by first responders and private citizens is truly impressive. Within minutes there were ferries and emergency boats on the scene. Compared to the disbelief and stunned reaction to 9/11, everyone involved immediately recognized and responded without delay to the emergency. If anyone has learned the lessons of 9/11, it's the people of the metropolitan area.TRex quoted a friend over in his rarely-updated blog:
I was just talking to my friend Christa earlier tonight. She’s a transplanted Noo Ywahkah living on the west coast and she said, “Oh, honey, listen. If I’m trapped under 30,000 pounds of concrete, breathing through a straw, hanging on for dear life, I wanna hear some Brooklyn and Jersey accents calling down to me, y’know? ‘Yoo hang awn down deyah, honey, we gonna gitcha outta deyah, arright?’ All rescue workers everywhere should have to talk like they’re from New York.”That about sums it up perfectly. Everyone did an outstanding job yesterday. It's good to feel good about a jet crash for a change.
6 comments:
As a recreational private pilot, I know the a little about the conversations that pilots have about trees v.s. water.In this case, Sully had the option of buildings or water. Given the situation, man, he could not have done a better job. Flying is sometimes described as hours of boredom, followed by moments of sheer terror. Sully did not even flinch when it was his time to do his job. Amazing.
"Compared to the disbelief and stunned reaction to 9/11, everyone involved immediately recognized and responded without delay to the emergency. If anyone has learned the lessons of 9/11, it's the people of the metropolitan area".
I am not sure how to read this"campared to.." comment. I was there and commented (negatively) on the plane overhead, before it crashed into the Trade Center. Shortly thereafter, when the 2nd building was hit, it was obvious the arabs had attacked the Trade Center again. As I watched the building (at that moment) I saw the NY Fire department's trucks and ladders all lined up at the North tower, only to realize it was a fruitless action. They , the police and others, then did what they had to do to get people out of the buildings. It was Heroic. then there were the lines around the blocks at hospitals to give blood. All day, i saw NO US fighter jets, or other planes. New York, unlike the Federal Government whose job it is tot protect us, was ready on day one.
You're right. I probably didn't phrase it as well as I should have, Jonathan.
The 9/11 drama was played out on many levels, and there were undoubtedly some areas that were unprepared and slow to react. But the city's first responders did a tremendous job and I meant no disrespect to them at all. There were quite a few avoidable delays caused by lack of coordination between services, communications problems, and possibly something along the lines of "this can't actually be happening".
Yesterday's quick and overwhelming coordinated response to the emergency was an indication that the additional training and resources which have been provided since 9/11 seems to have been properly utilized.
I don't even need to discuss the terrible response by the Federal government. From George "My Pet Goat" Bush on down, there were tremendous lapses in response times on the national level. If it wasn't for the FDNY and NYPD, along with many other heroes in Manhattan that awful day, there undoubtedly would have been many more victims.
Bob,
Thanks. I appreciate you comments, perhaps I get sensitive with people blaming New Yorkers or whatever. Thoughtful comment, Jonathan
Next time some wingnut comes here to bash Unions point them here
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/1/16/11125/1166
ctkeith
Good article.
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