Would be news if it were NOT the case, actually.
The A.P. is reporting that US Airways Flight 1549 pilot Sully Sullenberger sounded very calm on the tapes of his radio broadcasts before setting his Airbus into the Hudson.
Uh, yeah. I want three things on the flight deck of any plane I'm on: A touch of gray, a belief in man's mortality, and utter, complete confidence that the pilot knows what he (or she) is doing.
And the person who should feel that confidence most should be the pilot.
Labels: duty, in the news
posted by Matt G @ 11:16 AM
8 Comments:
Matt,
The one flaw in your reasoning is the confidence part. All pilots are confident. I never met a flight engineer or co-pilot/first officer who didn't think he was as good as the capt. You've known me for nearly 30 years and know my modesty is legend. Do I think I'm a better pilot than Sully? No, he has thousands of hours but if you were to compare Sully when he had 200 hrs. to me when I had 200 hrs in my logbook, who do you think I believe was the most shithot? Be careful of confidence...and never ride in a patrol car with someone braver than you
I'm in full agreement. This guy did an amazing job!
He done good as they say :-)
Actually the whole crew did well, but that has a lot to do with the quality of thier training.
There are some questions floating about the Airbus and throttle rollback issues, but I'll bet it will be a year before NTSB publishes the report. That airplane is capable of some scary things with those auto-throttles, including refusal to add power if the computer thinks it would hurt the engines! I'm doing some digging on that
The audio is further proof that Capt. Sully 'clanks' when he walks. Cool as ice.
It's been my experience that many pilots are type A, "Hot Dog" personalities. I completely agree with your assessment of the three things I want a pilot to have when I'm on board.
Allow me to go a little off topic here and say that I'm proud to announce the birth of my 6th grandchild. Check out my blog for pictures.
I'm also sad to say I lost one of my best four-legged friends. If you have a moment, please talk to what ever higher power you believe in and ask them to treat his soul kindly.
Joe
I'm still wondering about this bit: Remains from both engines have also been sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington to have the particular bird species identified.
Does it really matter? Was this engine rated for one species of large bird but not another?
"Does it really matter? Was this engine rated for one species of large bird but not another?"
These investigations by the NTSB and the FAA determine policies and procedures, as well as shape doctrines and guidlines. If they find out that it was the Lesser Canadian Goose, and we find that the runway is in line with the flyway to a rookery or wetlands especially favored by the Lesser Canadian Goose, then we can foresee a problem. We also could say, that, during X and Y months, we see a particular problem with Z species at areas A and B, and aircraft in area Theta should be especially cautious.
So, yeah. I personally think we should get a species I.D., if we're going to be thorough. A lot of people almost died.
Actually if there is a rookery or similar, the FAA will actually redesign the approaches and departures to take that into effect. It could be as simple as changing a left turn to a right turn, or as complex as a complete redesign of the airspace for both approach and departure.
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