Having spent over 20 years at the National Transportation Safety Board, the only time I got called or the board got called was when there was a real disaster, usually involving fatalities. So, this is a great story.
JUDY WOODRUFF: John Wiley, as a pilot, what does it look like to you, how rare?
JOHN WILEY, Pilot: Well, it's beyond the realm of contemplation.
You just -- you go through various drills in the simulators. You have engines fail. You have systems fail. You don't have a double engine failure on takeoff that winds up ditching in a cold -- a cold river, the Hudson.
...
JOHN WILEY: Well, Sully is an experienced aviator. If you look at his history, you will find out he has been with the company for over -- since 1980.
He is also a glider pilot. And you have to realize that, when you are going through abnormal circumstances, one of the things that you are trying to do is get as much normal back as you can.
The engines are gone. The airplane is now essentially a glider. Sully's looking around, I would imagine, to find out where he can put this thing down with the least amount of impact and also the least amount of danger.
He's a skill aviator. He has flown a lot of different airplanes. I have met Sully a number of times and worked with him briefly. We're not buds or close friends, but we are good acquaintances. He is what we would call a good stick, a good, good aviator.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Greg Feith, how much did it complicate his job that, yes, he was going down in a river, but you had bridges there, you had current; there were boats?
GREGORY FEITH: Oh, this -- the decisions that this captain had to make were extraordinary, because he didn't have a lot of time. He didn't have a lot of options.
And, as John said, I mean, there came a -- a point where that crew decided that their only option, because they weren't going to make it back to an airport, was to put it down in the water. They stayed committed to that option and did what they could to salvage a very bad situation.
They -- they just followed their training. And -- and, as John said, it comes down to airmanship, skills, abilities, knowledge and experience. And maybe a lesser experienced pilot may not have accomplished the success that Sully did in this particular event.
But I agree with you Scott.
I honestly don't know if there's a connection between the two. I've certainly heard retention ponds and water hazards on golf courses, but that river seems to be, shall we say, a different kettle of fish altogether.
