The social paradox in the “miraculous” rescue on the Hudson

[Joanne98]

17 January 2009

It is impossible not to be moved by accounts of the crash Thursday afternoon of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River near Manhattan and its aftermath, the successful rescue of all 150 passengers and 5 crew members. A combination of extraordinary professionalism, skill, courage and elementary human camaraderie produced this astonishing outcome.

The odds seemed heavily stacked against a happy outcome. A few minutes after takeoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport, Flight 1549 apparently flew into a flock of birds and lost power in both of its Airbus A320 engines. Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and his co-pilot thus found themselves at the controls of a powerless jetliner, weighing tens of thousands of pounds and carrying 153 other human beings, directly above one of the world's major metropolitan areas. The potential for a horrifying disaster was enormous.

Sullenberger indicated to air traffic controllers that he was "unable" to either return to LaGuardia or reach the small airport in nearby Teterboro, New Jersey. Instead, he turned southward along the Hudson River, which separates Manhattan and New Jersey, flew over the George Washington Bridge and landed the aircraft safely in the middle of the river.

Sullenberger and his co-pilot deftly landed the plane in such a manner, "with its nose up, and on its fuselage," that the plane "managed to stay afloat immediately after impact" (New York Times).

The setting down of the airplane was not the last challenge. January 15 was one of the coldest days of the year so far in New York, with an air temperature of 18 degrees Fahrenheit (-8 degrees Celsius) and a water temperature of 35 degrees (2 Celsius). Immersion in water at such temperatures even for a few minutes can be fatal.

With the passengers arrayed on the wings of the sinking plane, within minutes "the water was churned by an ad hoc flotilla of boats and ferries flying the flags of almost every city, state and federal agency that works the waters around New York City. They sped toward the slowly sinking jet, a rescue operation complicated by river currents that kept dragging the plane south" (New York Times).

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jan2009/pers-j17.shtml

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Excellent article. On her show yesterday Rachel Maddow made a similar statement.

She said that she had no intention of taking away from the heroics and courage of those involved, but she emphasized more than once that the real underlying reason it turned out that way was due to the TRAINING and PREPAREDNESS of those involved. She mentioned the years of experience on the part of the pilot. The crew and the first responders had also undergone repeated training for just such an occasion.
The truth is that without unions and the inherent demand for training, there would be a lot less of it.

The article is so accurate. With one face the politicians are glorifying and praising the pilot and crew and first responders, and yet with the other face, they are trying to undermine unions as well as cut the budgets for the training and experience that made those people able to do their jobs so well.

Irony...huh? I hope that it is not forgotten.

[RC]

2. Everything works better when bu$h is not notified in advance.

That said, why can't fit a steel or some such grid in the engine intake to filter out low flying birds, wayward bowling balls and such. A two or even 3 inch grid of sufficient strength should suffice I would think.

[bvar22]

3. Excellent article!

It goes on:

"The hollowness and hypocrisy of many of these comments emerges when one considers the nearly continuous attacks such ordinary "heroes" have faced in recent years and the degree to which such levels of professionalism and skill are being undermined by the policies of the corporate elite and the government.

Airline pilots and flight crews have faced a devastating assault on their income, working conditions and morale. US Airways (a descendant of Allegheny Airlines) has undergone two bankruptcies and shredded workers' jobs, benefits and pensions along the way, while enriching executives like Parker.

A Pittsburgh newspaper reported in 2006 that nearly 9,000 US Airways employees in that area alone had lost their jobs since 2001. In 2003, the airline was one of the first major carriers to rid itself of pilots' pensions in the interests of cutting costs, releasing the pension fund to the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a move that inevitably results in a reduction in pension benefits. In 2008, the US Airline Pilots Association, bargaining agent for the carrier's pilots, alleged that US Airways, in response to the rising price of oil, was pressuring its pilots to carry less fuel, subjecting those who refused to retaliatory discipline.}

"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[dcsmart]

4. I read this article on WSWS

i am glad i am not the only one that reads this site. Their reporting is great.

[yawk09]

5. k&r

[Omaha Steve]

6. OOPS

I posted this in the same forum without making the connection. Joanne98 it was a boo boo. I am sorry.

OS