Sullenberger

by Angela Rocco DeCarlo Watching the story unfold of the US Airways jetliner's Hudson River landing January 15, 2009, filled Americans with an overwhelming sense of gratitude, awe and wonder. As more was learned about the pilot and crew it was clear this incident - "Miracle on the Hudson" (no one is better than New Yorkers to create instant tag lines) - was apparently the most marvelously competent water landing - ditching is not the correct term for what Pilot Sullenberger did - ever seen. Reports blamed an unfortunate flock of birds, which apparently collided with the jet engines minutes after takeoff. (Why can't the engines have a fine titanium mesh screen protector?) The jetliner was carrying 150 passengers and five crew members from La Guardia Airport, NY, to Charlotte, NC. With two disabled engines, the pilots and crew had about as much time to decide and execute a plan of survival as it takes to microwave breakfast bacon - a few minutes. Yet, from among few options the water landing was targeted and executed with superb results. That Captain Chelsey Sullenberger III and his co-pilot, who has yet to be named, demonstrated that elusive quality many think of as emblematic of the best of ...