Flight 1549 Crew, Air Traffic Controller Testify at Congress
Photograph of, from left, US Airways flight 1549, from left, Capt. Chesley B Sullenberger III, First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles, flight attendant Sheila Dail, flight attendant Donna Dent, flight attendant Doreen Welsh, and air traffic control specialist Patrick Harten by Susan Walsh/AP-Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Flight 1549 crew received a standing ovation before they testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The crew members, Captain Chesley B Sullenberger III, First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles, flight attendant Sheila Dail, flight attendant Donna Dent, flight attendant Doreen Welsh, appeared before the committee alongside LaGuardia air traffic controller Patrick Harten, who gave his first statement about the flight that eventually splash-landed into the Hudson River with everyonen surviving.
Harten said, “It was the lowest low I had ever felt…While I have worked 10 or 12 emergencies over the course of my career, I have never worked an aircraft with zero thrust capabilities. I understood how grave this situation was.” And when Sullenberger told him he was going to land in the Hudson, “I asked him to repeat himself, even though I heard him just fine. I simply could not wrap my mind around those words. People don’t survive landings on the Hudson River; I thought it was his own death sentence. I believed at that moment, I was going to be the last person to talk to anyone on that plane alive.”
Sullenberger spoke out against cost-cutting in the airline industry, “I am worried that the airline-piloting profession will not be able to continue to attract the best and the brightest. The current experience and skills of our country’s professional airline pilots come from investments made years ago when we were able to attract the ambitious, talented people who now frequently seek lucrative professional careers” elsewhere. He added that his salary was reduced 40%—prompting him to start his consulting business—and that his pension was eliminated and said airline companies “have used airline employees as an ATM.”
Link for above article:
http://gothamist.com/2009/02/24/flight_1549_crew_air_traffic_contro.php
PDF file of Hearings of Flight 1549
Here is a similar story as above from The Washington Post (by AP)
Controller thought plane that ditched was doomed
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I created this page to address the issue of a lack of mention by the Main Stream Media (MSM) to mention the Co-Pilot’s Name (sorry: First Officer), and the three Flight Attendants. NOTE: this plane is designated normally for two flight attendants.
Most of us could not remember the First Officer’s name, because the MSM was almost absent in mentioning his name. The Co-Pilot (First Officer) typically shares the in full operational duties of the Piloting the Plane, and is just as important.
It is “Sully” who keeps getting the majority of the Limelight… Something seems amiss here.
Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger, III
Age 58, joined US Airways (PSA Airlines) in 1980. He has a total of 19,663 flights hours.
First officer Jeffrey B. Skiles
Age 49, joined US Airways (USAir) in 1986. He has a total of 15,643 flight hours.
Flight attendant, Sheila Dail
Age 57, joined US Airways (Piedmont Airlines) in 1980 and has more than 28 years experience with the airline.
Flight attendant, Doreen Welsh
Age 58, joined US Airways (Allegheny Airlines) in 1970 and has more than 38 years experience with the airline.
Flight attendant, Donna Dent
Age 51, joined US Airways (Piedmont Airlines) in 1982 and has more than 26 years experience with the airline.
