Getting It Right

The FAA has released some audio (Flash player, part way down the first page) and the news have put together a longer video clip (embedded player, further down the page, worth it just to see the video caps of the A320 water landing - beginning of the clip).

Some people say the pilot was just doing his job, which he was. But he also showed a very high degree of calm given the circumstances and a high degree of focus. And some good judgment. If he'd turned towards Teterboro, he might well have put the big plane down into the city and I hate to think what that would have meant - certainly everyone on the plane would have died but so would a lot of other folks.

But he did the right thing, put it down on the water, and did it in a way sufficient to keep the fuselage intact. Within a few minutes, the rafts were being deployed and emergency services started to converge.

Well done to the pilot and all the crew of the flight. Well done to the controllers who tried to do what they could, as fast as they could, even though in the end it wasn't much use.

Newly Released Audio and Video

One of the themes of this blog is hope and optimism. This is an example of what happens when someone gets it right (and gets a bit lucky).