# The Legacy of "Sully" Sullenberger



## imp (Sep 24, 2015)

The scene below occurred on Jan. 15, 2009. Few can imagine, much less understand, the technical problems, and quick decisions, made by Captain Chesley Sullenberger when he realized his Airbus was doomed to crash-land in the Hudson River. We all must remember this event as one of the most note-worthy news items of that year. 

Air traffic controllers seemed to urge him to attempt to make it to an airport after both engines ingested a flock of geese, but his instincts were spot-on: NO WAY! His huge plane was going down, no doubt about it. Here are my thoughts on how the urgency and solution of his plight must have gone. I've thought about this man's decisions that day all the way till now.  

He lost power abruptly in both of his two engines. His altitude was not great. Please understand that these behemoth size aircraft cannot be guided by a man's physical strength alone. Every control surface of the aircraft which turns, rolls, pitches, yaws, this half-million pound hunk, experiences many thousands of pounds of force. So, his efforts at controlling those surfaces HAD to be augmented by POWERED DEVICES, but his power was OUT. He had to quickly employ emergency power resources, which today may be done automatically, this area beyond my current knowledge. Our pilots here will help me out, I hope. 

In any event, between talking to traffic controllers and guiding the big plane, he set it down perfectly into the Hudson River, an effort that could well have broken the craft to pieces. Everyone escaped pretty well unscathed. Sullenberger walked the aisles of the half-sunken hulk twice, determining no others were left aboard, then crawled out himself. 

How can a heroic individual of his caliber be adequately thanked?    imp


----------



## SifuPhil (Sep 25, 2015)

I just watched a YouTube of Billy Gardell's stand-up comedy ("Mike" of "Mike & Molly") and he said it far better than I ever could ...

(some strong language)


----------



## Meanderer (Oct 3, 2015)

[h=1]Animated Hudson river plane landing...[/h]


----------



## imp (Oct 3, 2015)

What a find! Thank you so much from this "Sully" fan!

imp


----------



## oldman (Oct 5, 2015)

A little tidbit that may be unknown to some. Captain Sullenberger actually taught "Water Landings" to many pilots and had written articles in the magazine that most pilots subscribe to, "Airline Pilot Magazine." I can only imagine what he felt when he saw that both engines had quit. 

The backup power system is called the "APU. Auxiliary Power Unit." It's name pretty well describes its function.

BTW, each necessary hydraulic and electrical system that is necessary to fly has a backup system and even a few of the backup systems has it's own backup system. Airplanes today are pretty complex. Just like a lot of other technical things in life, some of the airplanes today employ systems developed by NASA. However, many of an airplane's sensors and backup systems have been developed after what was learned from accidents.


----------



## littleowl (Oct 5, 2015)

Thanks for showing that.


----------



## Meanderer (Oct 5, 2015)

oldman said:


> A little tidbit that may be unknown to some. Captain Sullenberger actually taught "Water Landings" to many pilots and had written articles in the magazine that most pilots subscribe to, "Airline Pilot Magazine." I can only imagine what he felt when he saw that both engines had quit.
> 
> The backup power system is called the "APU. Auxiliary Power Unit." It's name pretty well describes its function.
> 
> BTW, each necessary hydraulic and electrical system that is necessary to fly has a backup system and even a few of the backup systems has it's own backup system. Airplanes today are pretty complex. Just like a lot of other technical things in life, some of the airplanes today employ systems developed by NASA. However, many of an airplane's sensors and backup systems have been developed after what was learned from accidents.


Very interesting, oldman!  Did they ever determine how many geese were ingested by the engines?


----------



## oldman (Oct 5, 2015)

*"Very interesting, oldman! Did they ever determine how many geese were ingested by the engines?"

*I never heard or read anywhere if they were able to count the number of geese or not. BTW, If I am not mistaken that even though he had lost thrust in both engines, there was enough power coming from turbines in the engines to allow him to operate his flaps and rudder. I don't know or remember if he had ailerons or not. All of this doesn't really matter. He did a magnificent job of landing his Airbus. I did a few water landings myself while in the simulator. It's somewhat different, but you can get an idea what all is involved. I wish more people would also give credit to Capt. Sullenberger's First Officer, Jeff Skiles. He also aided in the landing, following Capt. Sullenberger's commands. Together, they made one heck of a team. I am sure that U.S. Air is also proud of them.Of course, U.S. Air is now part of American Airlines. They have had a few "incidents" that last few months that should not take away from the actions of these two men.


----------



## Falcon (Oct 5, 2015)

A great life-saving event.  Both pilots deserve medals.

I can't believe some people think it's funny.  Not a place for 'humor'  IMO.


----------



## imp (Oct 5, 2015)

Easy to laugh after the fact, ain't it? I recall a 737, think it was, ditched in one of those rivers, maybe East River, maybe late '80s; a young guy, ought to recall his name, it was Polish, jumped into the water and rescued several folks. Sullenberger's event went much better. Believe the recognition given that guy included a medal for heroism.   imp


----------



## oldman (Oct 5, 2015)

I don't think it was a B-737. I was thinking that it was a smaller plane flown by Delta or American.


----------



## imp (Oct 5, 2015)

oldman said:


> I don't think it was a B-737. I was thinking that it was a smaller plane flown by Delta or American.



I was able to come up with: USAir Flight 5050, 20 Sep 89, aborted takeoff, B-737-400, into river. Could not find info on the rescuer, believe he received medal from President Reagan.  imp


----------



## oldman (Oct 6, 2015)

imp:  That was a horrendous accident. I believe the pilots were cited for several violations.


----------



## oldman (Oct 6, 2015)

imp:  If you like this sort of stuff, check out the incident that could have become an accident, but thanks to a skillful crew they were able to save the plane and all of the passengers. Most people probably were never aware of this incident.For a plane to lose rudder over the Behring Sea and still land it safely by using the thrust from the engines for such a long distance requires fortitude, training, composure on behalf of the crew and a lot of skill and of course, CRM. Cockpit Resource Management allows each person on the crew to suggest and use their knowledge that may even go against the Captain's best opinions.


----------



## Meanderer (Oct 6, 2015)

My question, about the number of geese, was a serious one.  

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/12/hudson.plane.geese/
"The plane's CFM56-5B/P turbofan engines were certified in 1996 as being able to withstand bird ingestion of 4 pounds....Adult Canada geese weigh between 5.8 and 10.7 pounds, although birds from resident populations rather than migratory populations can be heavier".

"Material from both engines was sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington for identification of the bird species.  Investigators have not yet determined how many birds hit the jet's engines".


----------

