Would You Say He Is One Hell Of A Pilot? Options

[albertchampion]

a successful landing on water. with everyone surviving. with the aircraft not breaking up.

i saw the craft in the water surrounded by rescue boats.

i listened to a passenger on npr.

and later saw a weather channel muppet reporting that the craft landed in the hudson just west of 48th street.

just west of my taichi sensai. i telephoned him. he told me that he was on the banks of the hudson when it happened. he was at the 44th street pier. he watched it happen. he said that the airbus descended until it was about 10-20ft above the water, then the nose lifted, and the plane settled onto the hudson.

he said that all kinds of watercraft appeared to have been prepositioned because the airbus was virtually immediately surrounded. by fdny waterboats to circleline ferry.

he said that he was watching it as it was framed by the uss intrepid.

i asked him if he got pix[he always carries his camera, except when he doesn't]. he said that because he was teaching a class, we was cameraless. and then in the background, his wife said, "what about your cellphone camera?".

he completely forgot that the phone was more than just a phone.

way too sad. he was in the right place at the right time.

i close this way. i am astonished by the skill and presence of mind of that pilot/copilot. if the story that they lost both engines on climb-out from LGA is accurate, they were damned good and professional to have landed the bird on water and saved everyone. in my book, that may be the commercial piloting nobel prizewinning feat.

[rob balsamo]

I havent been able to thoroughly research this event yet (i briefly had time to skim the pprune thread linked by JFK last night). But does anyone know for fact that the "Pilot-Flying" (PF) was the Capt? It could have been the FO as PF who actually made the landing.

Im a bit perturbed by the media (i know, big surprise), that all they credit is the Capt. That whole incident and professional outcome was a crew effort, including excellent cabin crew and rescue efforts of NYers.

Someone please post the final report when it is issued by the NTSB if i dont get to it first.