January 28, 2009
Flight 1549 and the Hudson River
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The aircraft for Flight 1549 is in the water. It looks like a sad little puppy with its ears outstretched on the water, back legs splayed out and tail held high. The forward doors are open and the evacuation slides are inflated on the water’s surface. The slides are also used as a life raft in a ditching situation. The plane is floating on the fast moving current of the Hudson River –an amazing sight –but there is so much more to see.
Portland Firefly cannot take herself away from the television. This former Flight Attendant finds the scenario spellbinding. Then she sees objects floating on the water near the plane. They are all the same size and same shape. The local news commentator makes a guess that the “debris” is luggage and other “plane wreckage”. Portland Firefly feels the tears starting, because she knows exactly what she is looking at and she know the news commentator is completely wrong. The tears are starting because she knows what it means to see those objects in the water. They are tears of happy amazement, because those objects mean that people survived the impact of the water landing – a ditching in airline jargon.
Those objects are the seat cushions. Yes, if you look at the plackard in front of every single seat on every single aircraft, it will say ” Seat cushion usable for flotation”. Some passengers actually “got it”, and they remembered to take their seat cushion with them as they were leaving the aircraft. Once survivors are in a rescue boat, the cold, heavy, wet seat cushions are no longer needed and are discarded overboard into the icy waters of the Hudson River.
As the scene unfolds further, some passengers are highly visible in their bright yellow/orange life vests that they had the presence of mind to retrieve from the pouch under their seat. The life vests are to be put on securely while still inside the aircraft , but only inflated “just as you leave the aircraft” because you don’t want it to get caught on a jagged piece of aircraft and tear. Later I notice some passengers are still wearing their life vests as they disembark the rescue ferries and enter a building. I think I’d keep mine on too!
Next the news shows the most amazing sight– and probably the image that will stick with most of us the longest–the A320 Airbus floating down the river that separates Manhattan from New Jersey– with passengers standing crowded together on the wings. The passengers look like they are walking on water. I know they are cold, but they probably feel like they are walking on air because they are alive.
The Saturday following the ditching, I was listening to Prairie Home Companion on public radio when Garrison Keillor sang a song about the heroes of Flight 1549. You can click on the following links to read the lyrics, or actually hear Mr. Keillor debut it. (lyrics | listen | download mp3) I love the song — it is sort of a folk story, the kind of thing that gets passed down from generation to generation.
Here is a link to a video of the ditching and first 8 minutes of the rescue. It contains footage that I have never seen before and documents the arrival of the ferries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flight1549CrashAndRescue.ogg
It is standard airline procedure that the crew give no interviews to the media until so released by their company and the NTSB http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Transportation_Safety_Board, who will be doing the investigation. And so it is with great interest that Portland Firefly will be watching Capt. Sullenberger and his crew at their first public interview on Sunday February 8, 2009.
I have added this link to the NY Times page. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/01/15/nyregion/20090115-plane-crash-970.html . It tracks the planes progress and also has some passenger stories.
The interview with Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and his crew will be shown Feb. 8 on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
What’s Buzzing? » Blog Archive » Flight 1549 and the Hudson River « Pdxfirefly’S Weblog said,
January 31, 2009 at 8:24 am
[...] I have added this link to the NY Times page. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/01/15/nyregion/20090115- plane -crash -970.html . It tracks the planes progress and also has some passenger stories. The interview with Chesley “Sully” …$anchor_text[$anchor_choice] [...]