Words like 'hero' and 'miracle' are easy to overuse

[Stinky The Clown]

But then there are events where the words seem less than adequate.

As the stories of individual acts keep coming out in the aftermath of the Hudson River plane ditching, those two words, in particular, seem more appropriate than we might have first thought.

The word miracle, even in this circumstance, is, indeed, inaccurate and hyperbolic - but only if one is a strict engineer in the way one lives one's life. The fact is, the safe ditching was some rare mix of incredible skill and well trained reactions on the part of the flight crew and a convergence of good fortune in the forces of nature. The word 'miracle' allows us a shorthand to describe all this. I don't see it as having any religiosity associated with it.

Now the heroes.

How about every person on that plane? The plane was evacuated in 90 seconds. And that included the flight crew doing not one, but two walk-throughs after it appeared all passengers were out. Facing the loss of their lives, watching the water rise and surely thinking of their own morality, the last passengers allowed the first passengers to deplane. There are reports that the passengers, on their own, allowed women and children to go first. (Save your sexism charges for some other event where it has meaning, okay?)

How about the boat crews who rushed to the scene? It is said they were at the plane almost at the moment it stopped moving. The boat crews saw a plane ditching and just kicked their motors in gear and went for it. I can imagine them thinking "Let's just get there. We'll figure it out later."

Herosim is seeing others in danger and rushing to save them at your own peril.

The pilot may have been the least deserving of the word "hero". That takes nothing away from his actions. Not a thing. Consummate coolness, consummate preparedness, consummate skill, consummate professionalism. He knew his actions meant the difference between life and death, not just for him, but for those in his charge. But he knew, were they to hit wrong, the cockpit hits first (figuratively).

The words hero and miracle are understandable in this circumstance. Neither may be a technically precise fit with the facts, but neither are they wrong. Many people faced extraordinary events yesterday, and millions more of us lived it vicariously.

I am not put off by the words, really. This was, no matter how your view it, an extraordinary event.

One person with two broken legs.

That's it.

An airplane fell out of the sky and that's it.

Yeah ..... I can handle use of the word 'miracle'.

90 seconds and out. Minutes and onto a dry boat.

Yeah ..... I can handle the word 'hero'.






This also puts me in mind of another hero on another frigid day in another river with another plane .........

Truly a hero.

Lenny Skutnik.

Google it up. It is an amazing story of selflessness in the extreme.

[Virginia Dare]

1. The miracle lies in the fact...

that aside from the incredibly horrible luck that birds took out two of the plane's engines, after that virtually hundreds of things that could have gone wrong, either by virtue of serendipity or lack of human error, didn't, and not a single life was lost. That to me is the definition of a miracle.

I think there are probably dozens of heroes in this story, if you define a hero as someone who can put aside their own self-preservation or discomfort in order to save others from injury and death.

Little things like this help restore faith in fellow man.

I thought it was interesting this morning that the family with the baby was disputing whether all the passengers were being calm and orderly though. It sounds like there may have been a couple (implied they were men) who were basically trampling over people to get their luggage and get off the plane first. Oh well, everybody can't be a hero.

I remember Mr. Skutnik well. As a D.C. area resident, along with 9/11, that day will always stick out as one of the most terrible days of my lifetime.

[LostinVA]

2. May I add Arland D. Williams -- who gave his life so others could live

That freezing day in the Potomac River.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arland_D._Williams_Jr.


Arland Dean Williams Jr. (September 23, 1935 – January 13, 1982) was a passenger aboard Air Florida Flight 90, which crashed on take-off in Washington, D.C. on January 13, 1982, killing 78 people. He was among the six persons to initially survive the crash. His actions after the crash, handling the initial rescue efforts as a first responder, became a well-known example of extraordinary heroism, although it cost him his life. He did not know any of the other victims personally. In fact, his identity was not even known until some time after the bodies were recovered.

In the words of a clergyman,

[azmouse]

3. The actions of everyone involved give me hope for humankind.

Bless them all.