An Observation about USAir 1549 at Work Today

[rsmith6621]

As many here know I work as a Dispatcher for a major airline which means I am the one who figures out how much fuel goes on your flight, How your flight is routed across the sky,analysis the enroute wx, makes sure your flight is operating in accordance with FAA regulations and I also make sure your Captain has been rested properly before your flight, basically your flight goes no where without my signature on a flight plan, the Captain can not go without my approval.

In my work environment we always have two 72 inch projection screen TVs on. One has the weather channel and the other CNN or MSNBC. Well this morning a fellow worker came in saw the continuing coverage of yesterdays water landing of 1549 and said loudly he was sick of watching it enough is enough......I had to speak up with the following. Had 1549 gone down in a place like Central Park or hit a building basically giving investigators only pieces of metal to make a determination of what happened we might well be living in a different environment this morning considering that we still live in a post 9/11 world. I stated that had no one survived to tell investigators that they saw birds around the engines before it lost power they could have drawn a preliminary conclusion of terrorism..had witnesses on the ground not heard the pops of the engines flaming out again accounting that birds where in the area and of course the great skill of the Captain and First Officer it would have been easy to have assumed we once again were hit by terror. This could have been catastrophic for our industry until the blackbox would have indicated otherwise.

I closed in saying we need to sit back and be thankful that there is good news to report in these challenging times we should be happy we have something to be happy for....

[lurky]

1. Great point, and it raises a question that's been bothering me.

Why did the pilot take a left and go towards Manhattan? This is the most densely populated area in America, with some neighborhoods having over 200,000 residents per square mile. Not to mention that it is arguably the business and financial center of the world, and that people are still shaky after 9/11. Couldn't he just as easily have taken a right and gone up the Hudson, away from the city? Just wondering...

[Larkspur]

2. Actually, where he landed was almost perfect

because he was near docks that contained ferries and other boats, which came out immediately to help the ditched plane. Had he landed farther down or farther up, the boats would have take longer to reach the passengers in the 32 degree water.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. He had intended to land at Teterboro Airport when he started having trouble, but realized

he would not make to Teterboro, so he looked for the closest and "safest" place to land.
He probably would not have made it any further up the Hudson if he had tried.



If you make a line diagonally to right..around 3 o'clock- from this airport you will see LaGuardia, which is where the plane took off.


You can see both airports here..

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=s&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-sk-gm&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=map

[rvablue]

6. Had he taken a "right" he would have been out above NY Harbor, not "up the Hudson." n/t

[DesertRat]

4. You're so right

I lost two dear relatives in the Valujet 592 crash in the Everglades. It was years before 9/11 so at the time, terrorism wasn't a consideration.

Whenever I hear of any airline crash I am immediately brought back to that horrible time in '96 and my heart aches for the passengers, crew and families.

I am so thankful for the wonderful outcome in this case.

[rvablue]

7. Sorry to hear that happened to your relatives and you but glad you posted

it as I can't believe (while it is few and far in between) some of the "cold" responses on here re:the ditch/crash.

Yes, a wonderful outcome to the whole thing. Thank god and that amazing, professional pilot.

[glitch]

5. It seems like a miracle to me to see a story with a good ending for a change

Especially at this time, and after all the times they've played (are still playing) the 9/11 tragedy.

It seems symbolic to me of a new era, where good endings are once again possible, and the death cult is forced to slink away -- foiled again.

[Frank Cannon]

15. Death to the death cult

Everything about this story: the masterful pilot, the levelheaded passengers, and the thousands of rescuers who came to their aid in mere minutes, gives me hope that in responses to danger, this country just might finally be coming out of the era of cowering in the dark with duct tape and plastic on the windows.

[glitch]

16. Symbol: people who DO their jobs (awesomely, in this case) vs people who get their jobs from cronies

and use them to pad their bank accounts while they play golf or shop for shoes.

America is back, baby!

[Arugula Latte]

8. I always thought that "water landing" stuff in the emergency brochures was total B.S.

meant to placate nervous passengers.

Glad to see I was proven wrong.

[Berry Cool]

9. I always thought "water landing" was a euphemism for "crashing in the water"

that they used to gloss over the fact that that's what you'd be doing, no matter what, in such a situation.

Obviously, not so. Kudos to a pilot who was able to judge just what he needed to do in a tough situation quickly, the crew who helped the passengers, the passengers for being so well behaved, and all the boats who came out to help them off.

[Arugula Latte]

17. Yep -- that's what I meant. I didn't explain it well.

:hi:

[bertman]

10. Earlier today I read that he did not land at Teterboro because he was unable to use

his engines' backthrust to stop the plane once it hit the runway. So in a moment of cool, calm brilliance he chose the river. It will be interesting to hear from him if he chose the spot near the ferries or if it was just a coincidence that he landed right next to them.

Either way, what a beautiful ending to what could have been a horrific tragedy.

Great points you make, rssmith. One other highly negative result of a disastrous crash and the possible terrorist-act designation would have been the ramped up Terror Fear going into the beginning of the Obama administration. That might have given the fascists yet another pretext to turn the screws even tighter.

You are right that it could have been another devastating blow to the aviation industry as well.

[illuminaughty]

11. TWA brat here. I'm glad you spoke up....

Yes, our media grinds a story to death. But, at least this was one with such a great positive outcome. People like yourself who work to keep us safe can never get enough Kudos. Let this pilot and crew have their 15 minutes of fame and more.

I was just thinking yesterday about John Testrake, the TWA pilot who performed so bravely during the hijacking of a flight to Beirut. (Don't know if you're old enough to remember) He saved so many lives by the way he handled himself. I'm sure few people remember his name, so I love that Sullenberger has become a household name...if only for a short time.

Also, you're right. We could have been assuming it was the work of terrorists. After all, they still discuss TWA 800 and can't agree, and, I've always wondered about the flight that came down in Queens on Nov. 11, 2001.

[lostnfound]

12. Especially after reading the essays in "Into the Buzzsaw"

The author of the book was a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Kristina Bjorgensen (sp?) who had attempted to do some stories about TWA 800. She ended up writing a book of essays from other successful journalists who believed there was a fully free media up until a watershed moment when the topic of their stories -- CIA drug running, the DuPont family, or Monsanto's Bovine Growth Hormone for example -- ran into the buzzsaw.

[illuminaughty]

18. Hey, thanks. Sounds like my kind of book, hadn't heard of it n/t

[malaise]

13. I agree 100% n/t

[Raven]

14. Huge consequences if that had happened. I doubt there would

have been a public Inauguration for starters.