Goddammit, it was NOT A FREAKING 'MIRACLE,' you stupid 'news' fucks!

[Oeditpus Rex]

It was highly skilled pilotage, not some fucking divine intervention!



:grr:

[mcctatas]

1. I know right?

Now if the passengers would have all walked on water to the safety of the shore, that might have qualified as a miracle

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. ...

:spray:



:thumbsup:

[Reverend_Smitty]

2. Seriously

If I were that pilot, I'd be pissed that my awesome flying/landing skills were attributed to some "deity" that had nothing to do with it

[lizziegrace]

3. Now wait

He did an amazing job. The fact that he took off from LaGuardia with VFR weather and had a river to land on that wasn't iced over and full of barge and boat traffic and the fact that he was able to clear bridges given the circumstances...

What's the good-type of perfect storm? He had it.

[Oeditpus Rex]

6. 'Happy coincidence'

The guy who founded the forum Testy Copy Editors has a saying:

"There is no such thing as a miracle! There is no such thing as a miracle! There is no such thing as a miracle!"



He means in a journalistic sense, of course. :)

[lizziegrace]

7. I think it was extraordinary skill combined with

a lack of obstacles and circumstances that would have doomed that plane no matter who was piloting. I think happy coincidence qualifies. Or damn lucky. ;)

[Oeditpus Rex]

11. 'Damn lucky' works

:thumbsup:

[KitchenWitch]

4. Exactly.

There is such a thing as human skill.

[Zomby Woof]

8. Explain the '69 Mets then, Professor Rex

(All gratuitous baseball references aside, I wholeheartedly concur).

[Oeditpus Rex]

10. Amazin'

[Gidney N Cloyd]

56. Cubs choked. nt

[RetroLounge]

78. '69 Mets?

How DARE YOU bring them up...

:mad:

RL

[Zomby Woof]

84. It was an objective, academic question

I am a Dodgers fan, so I had no dog in that fight. :hide:


(Yikes! The RetroWrath! :scared: )

[RetroLounge]

86. I can trace every bad thing that has ever happened to me

back to the '69 baseball season, and the cubs' choke...

:D

RL

[Zomby Woof]

88. I love the Cubbies

So reminding you I am a Dodgers fan probably didn't help - it reminded you of the latest choke. x(

But I really would love to see them win it all. :-)

[RetroLounge]

94. Just once in my lifetime.

please...

:D

RL

[Zomby Woof]

96. May you live to be 110!

:toast:































:hide:

[Oeditpus Rex]

89. Dude, you should totally sue Jim Hickman or Oscar Gamble

[RetroLounge]

95. I'd like to slap Tom Seaver or Jerry Koosman too...

:D

RL

[Oeditpus Rex]

97. Oh, sure

Blame guys for doing their jobs well. :eyes:









Then there was Paul Popovich, who once said to Harry Wendelstedt, "In Soviet Union, base takes you."



:hide:

[bridgit]

9. this thread is worthless without pics you performing the same feat...

:)

[Inchworm]

12. Dude.. It was Lounge Vibes!

A few were sent north today and intercepted.

:P

[oshyposhy]

13. You know, not wanting to debate

because you know I hate that...
Some people on the plane might disagree with you. The pilot used amazing skills, yes, but some prayers might have helped as well.

*flashes Oedi so he won't get all cranky*

[Oeditpus Rex]

15. I'm talking about the news

Journalists are supposed to be neutral and factual, or at least pretend to be, and that includes religion. The existence of a deity and the value of prayer are not proven. Ergo, journalists should avoid their mention.









And I'm not cranky. :P

[oshyposhy]

16. oh, well, nevermind

*puts bra back on*

[Oeditpus Rex]

17. Well, wait

Y'never know. I could be fixin' to get downright riled. :)

[oshyposhy]

18. too slow again...

Your timing is leaving much to be desired lately, toots.

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. Yer tellin' me

x(

[oshyposhy]

20. If you weren't off eating scramble degg sammiches and stuff

...

Maybe some divine intervention will bring them to you again.

*shrugs*

[Oeditpus Rex]

21. Dog works in breasterious ways

[oshyposhy]

22. *scratches Oedi under the chin*

;-)

[Oeditpus Rex]

26. ...

[oshyposhy]

28. ...

yes, my child?

[Deep13]

44. "...some prayers might have helped as well."

How? Doesn't it seem pretty arbitrary which prayers work and which ones do not?

[tekisui]

45. For all we know some may have been praying for a quick and painless

death, while others were praying for safety.

[LaraMN]

57. And I was under the impression that prayer doesn't change the will of God.

It's just sort of an outlet. Was God up there going, "Well, I was GOING to let you all burn alive, but since so many of you asked so nicely, I'll intervene, THIS time..."

:shrug:

[Midlodemocrat]

64. God answers all prayers. Sometimes the answer is 'No'.

[Skittles]

69. every convenient

covers all prayers, huh?

[Deep13]

74. And you're okay with a god who is that arbitrary?

Isn't the better explanation that there is no god, at least not the kind that answers prayers?

[Schema Thing]

92. Especially when the ? is: do you exist, god?

:p~

[Arugula Latte]

63. If a god really had some influence, why did the bastard kill the engines in the first place?

Why is it the deity is only credited for good things, but gets a pass when it is an asshole?

[pokerfan]

14. I guess God must have really hated everyone who has died in plane crashes

[Sebastian Doyle]

23. Since when does God hang around New York City?

According to the Robertson/Falwell explanation of 9-11, that would be the LAST place you would expect to find The Lord, handing out miracles. O8)

[jobycom]

27. Are you kidding? What, you think the Divine It would prefer Chicago pizza? Not a chance!

[ThomCat]

24. Exactly. It's just as likely that God was driving the Geese.

So Pilot 1, God 0.

:P

[Oeditpus Rex]

30. ...

:rofl:



Good point. :D

[gmoney]

81. More likely... free will of man and all.

Not sure the Bible mentions free will of Canada geese

[jobycom]

25. It was a miracle the pilot was so freaking skilled under pressure.

I guess I've been an atheist so long the word just doesn't have a religious meaning to me anymore.

Besides, wasn't it Patterson who labelled it a miracle first? Something like "We have the Miracle on 34th Street, now we have the Miracle on the Hudson."

The label will stick, so ya might as well make your peace with it. Save your energy to fight this revisionist image of Bush as a good guy who had to face unprecedented problems as president, rather than a inexperienced and incapable putz who caused the problems he faced.

[Rabrrrrrr]

29. I'm with you 100 percent on that one, dude. That's pure pilot skill, and that's it.

And the random chance that some ferries were close; though not totally random, because at that time of day, the river is filthy with ferries.

I see no miracle in this one at all.

[Connonym]

31. it's just another word that has been ruined by careless use

wtf ya gonna do? :shrug: Nobody gives a shit about words anymore -- a fact I ranted about when I checked in a book called "Octopusses" at the library the other day.

[Oeditpus Rex]

32. 'zackly

Was that a kids' book?



Then again, does it matter?





Octo

[Connonym]

34. watching some nature show the other day and they kept talking about

mooses WTF is WRONG with people?

[DarkTirade]

61. If the plural of goose is geese... then wouldn't the plural of moose be meese?

:P

[Dr. Strange]

52. Really?

That's how it was spelled? OCTOPUSSES?

[Lucian]

33. Don't you know?

God was steering the plane with his huge, invisible hand.

:crazy: :eyes:

I agree with you. It was due to highly skilled piloting, not a miracle.

[Tighelander]

35. Miracle, not a miracle

I just hope it took coverage away from the chimp's speech.

[Robeson]

36. You are correct, Sir.

[Drunken Irishman]

37. The thing is, had this happened in a landlocked area, it would've been ugly.

So it went beyond just a skilled pilot.

Put this in the heartland and we're looking at something catastrophic.

The fact he was able to find water to land on, while not desirable, made it far better than it could have been.

[taterguy]

38. How often do you find big flocks of geese where there's no water?

[av8rdave]

39. There are plenty of other large birds to worry about in landlocked areas as well

I've had a close call or two. Had one hit the radome years ago, just below the windscreen. The windscreen was instantly obscured with blood and bird innards. It was suddenly the copilot's turn to fly!

[Pacifist Patriot]

49. Can I ask you?

As mentioned below, I've heard conflicting stories but nothing from a pilot. Was the water landing done to keep the plane from going down in a congested or populated area or is it really preferable to landing on the ground in that kind of situation? I thought the pilot had hoped to make it to Teterboro or back to La Guardia and then realized that just wasn't going to be possible so he had to choose between the river or the city. I know nothing about aviation. Just curious.

[av8rdave]

59. A prepared surface is most preferable

I suspect that was his first inclination until he realized it was not possible. Absent that, the water was probably the next best option - particularly a relatively calm river with no swells.

The congested area wouldn't even be an option unless there was no control at all. It guarantees loss of life/injury to those on the ground, and most likely 100% fatalities for those on the aircraft.

He did a great job of piloting, but was also fortunate it was daylight with good visibility, relatively calm water, and immediate rescue available.

All in all, it sure is nice to see that outcome!

[blockhead]

53. most often.

geese mostly feed on grasses and crops.

[Drunken Irishman]

75. Birds are birds.

We have seagulls in Salt Lake City because of the lake.

But it doesn't change the fact had something similar happened over land, there would have been no place to land that thing without causing a whole hell of a lot of trouble.

[Pacifist Patriot]

47. I've heard conflicting stories on this. The pilot was actually attempting to get...

to Teterboro or back to La Guardia. I think the water landing was to keep the plane from going down in a congested or populated area. He still had landing gear.

[Drunken Irishman]

76. It's possible.

But that makes the water even better.

Since there wouldn't be heavily populated areas on the water.

Had there not been a river and he was forced to land right away, it would've been in some neighborhood.

Not good, regardless! Thank God we don't have to find out.

[hippywife]

40. I used the word miracle, too.

But not in the context of religion. There are miracles of nature, science, timing, etc., too, ya know!

:hi:

[YankeyMCC]

41. I really is almost immoral to keep saying it is a

'miracle' because it fails to recognize the true good, a silled pilot and well designed and engineered technology (at least the parts that continued to work and allowed the pilot to do something)

The moral thing is to praise good and it was the skill of the pilot primarily that should be acknowledged and praised not some mystery miracle force.

[Callalily]

42. Granted, I only saw a short

clip of the rescue, but I was looking to see if people actually used their seats as flotation devices. I couldn't see any,unless they discarded them when rescue boats arrived.

When I fly, and listen to that lecture from the flight attendant, I always want to see if I could actually take my seat off, and if it was truly usable.

Maybe some interviewer should ask that question of those who were rescued. We want to know! That information would truly be a public service. ;)

[Pryderi]

43. SATAN'S GEESE FOILED AGAIN!

[kwassa]

66. well, Canada Geese are Satanic, a tool of the Devil.

They never go away, they eat the lawn and leave green poop everywhere to step in.

And there are millions of them! Any pilot in this area has a surefire crash on their hands.

[Pacifist Patriot]

46. The problem is dynamic language, not necessarily belief in divine intervention.

I am a non-theist and my gut reaction was to blurt, "bloody miraculous!" A miracle has largely come to mean anything highly improbably or unexpected. My excited utterance was said with full recognition the pilot was highly skilled, incredibly poised and executed a brilliant landing.I know some people don't much care for definitions changing like this, but language isn't static, it evolves.

I bet quite a few of the people using the phrase in the media are not really giving any conscious thought to the power of prayer when they proclaim this a miracle. They're just saying they're astounded. After all, they are proclaiming the pilot a hero in their next breath. I haven't heard one yet say that God landed the plane. Though I'm sure someone will eventually get around to that. Jesus being his co-pilot and all. ;)

[Ptah]

48. And yet, you implore God to damn them.

sheesh

[Pacifist Patriot]

50. *snort*

I missed the irony.

[LeftyFingerPop]

51. Yep, noticed that too. n/t

[RetroLounge]

79. Actually, no. Goddamit. IT. Not them

Slight distinction, but important.

RL

[Ptah]

82. Still, invoking the deity while denying the existence of a deity is silly.

:silly:

[Oeditpus Rex]

83. One is compelled to note that 'goddammit' is really just an idiom

One may as well have said "For Christ's sake" or something.



















Oh, wait...

[Ptah]

87. Holy crap.

[RetroLounge]

85. Silly sure.

I don't believe in god, and I'm a bit angry with him.

Figure that one out...

:crazy:

RL

[tigereye]

54. yeah, I was just saying that to my tv - cold weather, gotta get the scoop.

they are acting disappointed that it went so well. :wtf: Truly bizarre. And the water was 41, fairly warm for winter.


That pilot deserves a medal for skill and preventing loss of life!

[Pryderi]

55. Killer Bird pic

[PunkinPi]

58. Looks like someone didn't give Will the memo...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4841268

:hide:

[Oeditpus Rex]

80. That oversight has been rectified

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4841268&mesg_id=4842971

[Shell Beau]

60. Maybe it was both.

It was obviously some awesome piloting. But the conditions were just right. I never doubt miracles. Maybe it was the fact that it was those specific pilots. :shrug:

[Zomby Woof]

90. god hates good music then

Ronnie Van Zant, Buddy Holly, Patsy Cline, Otis Redding, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and so many others died in aviation accidents. Explains why Amy Grant and Pat Boone never got theirs. x(

[Shell Beau]

100. So true.

[LanternWaste]

62. I think it was three and four

1. an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.
2. such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God.
3. a wonder; marvel.
4. a wonderful or surpassing example of some quality: a miracle of modern acoustics.


Numbers three and four seem spot on to me-- but then again, I don't pretend to know everything when I'm on the internet or even get mad when I don;t know each definition of every word I hear, so I could easily be wrong and the pilot didn't surpass expected quality and was merely adequte...

[Bertha Venation]

65. Rex, you'll feel better if you let your emotions out. Come on . . .

. . . this is a safe place.

;)

I couldn't agree more.

[Flaxbee]

67. It's driving my husband crazy ... this country acts as if someone

doing their job - and doing it well, mind you - is a miracle. Maybe it is.

My husband is a pilot - and we're both getting really irritated with all this hero-worship. From what I've read of "Sully", it's probably making him uncomfortable, too.

[deutsey]

68. Well, there was at least some cosmic justice in this story upstaging Bush's informercial

It also was a nice counterpoint: A skilled professional saving lives (Sully) vs. an incompetent jerk trying to save his own ass (You know who).

[JitterbugPerfume]

70. For the woo woo's

it can't just be pilot skill, It has to be divine intervention.

If I was that pilot I would be pissed that god gets all of the credit

[Lincolngirl]

71. Hear Hear!! he did his job! And he did it brilliantly!! N/A

[dembotoz]

72. so lets assume that after this the pilot goes in for a raise

and the airline says
"why do you deserve a raise? god did all the work, you just sat there and whatched"
"it was a miracle"

[dawgmom]

73. I'd love to see them extend that style of reporting if the situation were different

"Today, a jumbo jetliner lost both its wings and plunged to the earth in a fiery ball of death, its passengers and crew screaming in horror until the last moment of impact. God decided to really screw 'em, eh Joe?"

[Bake]

77. It was GREAT piloting and great rescue work.

I salute them all.

But there's no need to get pissy about it.

Bake

[Call Me Wesley]

91. It is a great miracle

that things heavier than air can even fly high up in the heavenly sky!

[Oeditpus Rex]

98. And the corn is as high as an elephant's eye

[Call Me Wesley]

99. Depends on how much

genetically modified fertilizer the archangels use. :shrug:

[NJmaverick]

93. There were certainly elements of luck

there were no barges or ships in the way of the landing (the Hudson is quite busy). It was in a river with a ton of ferry boats (the perfect rescue craft in this case) and it wasn't during rush hour (which ment the ferries were not full of people, which would have had to been unloaded before they could come to the rescue).

[LNM]

101. Highly skilled piloting and great engineering.

I'm amazed the plane didn't disintegrate.