Simulation of Sully Sullenberger’s Hudson landing

Gintas writes:

This is definitely worth watching—someone recreated the whole flight, adding the conversation between the aircraft and trafffic control. It looks as if it was done with Microsoft’s Flight Simulator.

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Rick Darby writes:

Capt. Sullenberger’s successful water landing wasn’t his greatest achievement that day. Most airline pilots probably could have managed that. Where his experience, cool-headedness, and self-confidence counted most was in refusing the temptation to head for Teterboro or Newark and accepting that the ditching was necessary.

He undoubtedly realized, as he was weighing the odds, that if he didn’t make it to the airport and the airplane “went in” at some heavily populated location, many lives could have been lost on the ground in addition to those aboard the plane.

A good deal of piloting is automated these days, but no computer can ever match the decision making skills of a top-notch captain.

LA replies:

I don’t know that it was even a matter of judgment or of making a choice—there was no time to get to Teterboro or Newark, the plane had no power and was going down. There was nothing to do but go into the Hudson. But his coolness is impressive.The phlegmatic Anglo-American at his best. Like the crew of Apollo 13.

While the recreation is well done, the volume keeps coming and going, so that there’s a good deal of the flight recording we don’t hear, though the transcript is presented onscreen.

Also, the recreation doesn’t show the plane passing over the George Washington Bridge. I heard recently that the plane only just cleared the bridge.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 19, 2010 02:33 PM | Send