"Miracle on the Hudson" Only Second Water Landing in History Without Fatalities

As the public learns more and more about the impressive resume of pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger , the more that is learned about airplane crashes makes his "Miracle on the Hudson" landing even more impressive. Every airplane that has made a water crash - landing in recent memory has had at least one fatality involved. That is because there has only been one other recorded incident of a plane crashing or landing on water where no one was killed.

The New York Daily News reports that, according to Emilio Corsetti, author of 35 Miles From Shore, the only other time that a passenger jet landing in water and all survived was in 1963 when a Russian Aeroflot flight landed in a river near St. Petersburg, Russia. All 53 people aboard survived the crash.

Which makes Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger's accomplishment even that much more miraculaous.

Sullenberger intentionally piloted his failing Airbus 320 away from populated areas of New York City and dropped the US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River Thursday, January 15. The plane had lost power in both engines about 30 to 45 seconds into the flight when it flew into a flock of geese. Sullenberger called in two bird strikes (the term used to denote an airplane flying into, or striking, a bird) before he lost power and glided his plane into an emergency crash landing in the Hudson River.

All 150 passengers and 5 crewmen were ferried to safety.

Corsetti told the Daily News that, "Since jet travel started, there's only been a handful of intentional ditchings. It's extremely, extremely rare."

There have only been three other documented cases of a pilot intentionally ditching a plane into water. Commercial airplanes that end up in water usually do so because of missing or overshooting a runway. Landing, or ditching, a plane in water is only done when one of two factors occur: both engines of the plane fail simultaneously or the plane runs out of fuel. Both are rare.

Sullenberger's ability to bring in his plane safely can only add to his reputation. Being hailed as a hero, the 57-year-old safety consultant will undoubtedly be able to use his newfound fame to further his business interests. He is president of the safety consulting firm, Safety Reliability Methods.

New York Governor David Patterson called the landing a "Miracle on the Hudson." And that it most certainly was.

Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger flew jet fighters for 7 years for the U.S. Air Force. He has flown as a pilot for 28 years with US Airways. In the 1970's, Sullenberger spent a few years investigating aircraft accidents and participating in several National Transportation Safety Board investigations. And that was all before he became only the second pilot in history to ever safely land a commercial jet in water without fatalities.

With a resume like that, he shouldn't have too much trouble finding work in safety consulting.

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Source:

NYDailyNews.com