The Untold Miracle of the Hudson
Taglines:
The untold story behind the miracle on the Hudson.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Questioning the Purpose of Simulation Tests
Ben Edwards:
Multiple airports, runways, two successful landings. We are simply mimicking what the computer already told us.
Charles Porter:
A lot of toes were stepped on in order to set this up for today. And frankly, I really don't know what you gentlemen plan to gain by it.
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
Can we get serious now?
Charles Porter: [caught off guard by his directness]
Captain?
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
We've all heard about the computer simulations, and now we are watching actual sims. But I can't quite believe you have still not taken into account the human factor.
Charles Porter:
Human piloted simulations showed you could make it back to the airport.
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
No, they don't. These pilots were not behaving like human beings, like people who are experiencing this for the first time.
Charles Porter:
Well they may not be reacting like you did.
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
Immediately after the bird strike, they are turning back for the airport, just as in the computer sims, correct?
Charles Porter:
That is correct.
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
They obviously knew the turn, and exactly what heading to fly. They did not run a check. They did not switch on the APU.
Charles Porter:
They had all the same parameters that you faced.
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
No one warned us. No one said "You are going to lose both engines at a lower altitude than any jet in history. But be cool. Just make a left turn for LaGuardia, like you're going back to pick up the milk." This was dual engine loss at 2,800 feet, followed by an immediate water landing, with 155 souls on board. No one has ever trained for an incident like that. No one. Now, the Teterboro landing, with its unrealistic bank angle - we were not the Thunderbirds up there. I'd like to know how many times the pilot practiced that maneuver before he actually pulled it off? I'm not questioning the pilots. They're good pilots. But they've clearly been instructed to head for the airport immediately after the bird strike. You've allowed no time for analysis or decision-making. In these simulations, you've taken all of the humanity out of the cockpit. How much time did the pilots spend planning for this event? For these simulations? You are looking for human error. Then make it human.
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A Regretful Reflection on Timing
Dr. Elizabeth Davis: [At the NTSB investigation proceedings]
First Officer Skiles, is there anything you would have done differently?
Jeff Skiles: [pause]
Yes. I would've done it in July.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Investigation of the Hudson River Incident
Jeff Skiles:
You've got to be kidding me. We've been through all this before.
Charles Porter:
Look, I'm sorry if you're frustrated, but our job is to investigate how a plane ended up in the Hudson River.
Jeff Skiles:
On the Hudson River.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Forced Landing Explanation and Decision Making
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
It was not a crash, it was a forced water landing.
Ben Edwards:
Why didn't you attempt to return to LaGuardia?
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
There simply was not enough altitude.
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Realization of Lives at Stake
Lorraine Sullenberger: [almost bursting into tears]
Oh my God
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
What?
Lorraine Sullenberger:
I just realized there were a hundred and fifty-five people on that plane and you were one of them.
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The High Cost of Snacks on Flights
Jeff Skiles:
Can you believe they charge $5 for a snickers? I could bankrupt the airline in about four bites.
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A Culinary Debate Between Friends
Jeff Skiles:
The ribeye will break your heart.
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
I'm more of a Porterhouse Man.
Jeff Skiles:
Porterhouse will stop your heart.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Unprecedented Crisis in Aviation History
Chesley Sully Sullenberger: [[w:LaGuardia Airport | LaGuardia]
No one warned us. No one said, "You are going to lose both engines at a lower altitude than any jet in history. But be cool, just make a left turn for ], like you are going back to pick up the milk." This was dual engine loss at twenty-eight hundred feet, followed by immediate water landing with one hundred fifty-five souls on board. No one has ever trained for an incident like that. No one.
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Facing uncertainty with courage and resolve
Chesley Sully Sullenberger: [Looks at the co-pilot 10 seconds before ditching]
Any ideas?
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Captain's Command for Emergency Landing
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
This is the captain. Brace for impact.
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The Nature of Unprecedented Events
Chesley Sully Sullenberger:
Everything is unprecedented until it happens for the first time.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
