Flight 1549: Flight Attendants honored by Union

June 30, 2009 by mattie14

Not sure if this was missing or never got posted.

Flight 1549 Flight Attendants: Sheila Dail, Donna Dent, and Doreen Welsh were honored for “just doing their job” in evacuating the plane. They received the C.B. Lansing Award for Heroism – an award established in 1988 in the name of a deceased flight attendant and has only been bestowed 4 other times.

March 31, 2009

Press Release from the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA website

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Bestows Honor on US Airways 1549 Flight Attendants

Milwaukee, WI – The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) held a ceremony today honoring the three flight attendants who successfully evacuated over 150 passengers of US Airways Flight 1549 after a water landing in the Hudson River. At the annual AFA-CWA Board of Directors meeting, the C.B. Lansing Award for Heroism was presented to Sheila Dail, Donna Dent, and Doreen Welsh.

“It is an honor to present our most prestigious award for heroism to three AFA-CWA flight attendants who utilized their experience, knowledge and training to ensure the survival of all souls aboard, including passengers with mobility challenges, children and other special needs passengers,” said Veda Shook, AFA-CWA International Vice President. “Passengers and their colleagues have praised the professionalism of Sheila, Donna and Doreen and America has adopted them as their heroes. Today we honor them on behalf of over 50,000 flight attendants at major, national, charter and regional carriers across the country.”

The C. B. Lansing Memorial Award was established following the tragic and heroic events aboard Aloha Airlines Flight 243 on April 28, 1988. Aloha flight attendants faced a sudden and serious aircraft incident. C.B. Lansing did not survive the incident; however her fellow flight attendants persevered, rendering life-saving first aid in-flight as they planned for an emergency landing.

“Sheila, Donna and Doreen have long known the importance of the flight attendant profession. As their colleagues, we also know how vital our role is as safety professionals, but because of events on January 15, now the world knows that flight attendants as safety professionals go hand in hand,” said Mike Flores, AFA-CWA US Airways President.

The award is not an annual presentation and is presented to a crew or crewmember who displays heroism beyond the call of duty. There have been four prior recipients in the history of AFA-CWA who have received this honor. Sheila, Donna and Doreen are Charlotte, North Carolina based AFA-CWA members.

Flight 1549: Jeff Skiles before Congress

UPDATED (4-18) Crew of Flight 1549 appearances

February 24, 2009
Hearing on U.S. Airways Flight 1549
Testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation

First Officer Jeff Skiles appeared before Congress with Capt Sullenberger, Doreen Welsh, Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Air Traffic Controller Pat Harten - the mystery voice on the cockpit recordings.

nancy pelosi

Statement-pdf (Emphasis added)

Chairman Costello, Chairman Oberstar, Ranking Members Mica, Petri and members of the committee, I am honored to appear before the Aviation Subcommittee. I too am proud of the fact that I have been involved in aviation for the last 32 years. Both of my parents were pilots before me. I have over 20,000 hours in the cockpit, have flown as Captain at US Airways in the past, and Captain qualified on 3 different transport aircraft types.

While much has been made of cockpit flight crew’s actions in this incident, much credit is due to the experienced and highly trained flight attendants, Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh and Sheila Dail. Without their quick, capable and courageous actions, the outcome that day would have been dramatically different. To work with such professionals is truly an honor for me. Also, the captains and crews of the boats that came to our rescue as well as the first responders at the ferry terminals were a great part of the successful outcome. And finally the passengers themselves, who evacuated the airplane in an extremely orderly, selfless and professional manner, deserve much credit.

We have been categorized as heroes; if so, there were many, many heroes on that day.

Like each and every one of my fellow professional airline pilots and flight attendants, I realize that flying a commercial airliner is a tremendous responsibility. The aftermath of this incident has brought forth in me a renewed understanding that this is a job for experienced professionals. Being an airline flight crewmember, whether pilot or flight attendant, is a serious job for serious people, and I am tremendously proud to count myself among their number. The dedication, seriousness and professionalism with which we in the aviation community approach our responsibilities can be credited for the dramatic improvement of our national aviation safety record. The training, procedures and tenets of cockpit resource management (CRM) developed throughout the airline industry over the last 15 years, played a significant role on January 15th.

Training departments industry wide are ceaselessly striving to identify future problems and develop procedures to combat them before they occur. A functional self- disclosure safety program is a valuable tool to identify and track errors. Mutually agreeable solutions to make these programs available are in the traveling public’s interest. We must work tirelessly to maintain an unrivaled commitment to safety and professionalism. However, another component of the positive result was the vast experience of the cockpit AND cabin crew.

Sully and I have over 70 years of experience and 40,000 flying hours between us. New pilots in the jet aircraft of our affiliate airlines have 300 hours. When I began at US-Airways, the Company required several thousand hours just to gain an interview for a pilot position. It is certainly in the interest of the traveling public to have experienced crews in the cockpit.

Along with Captain Sullenberger, I have concerns for the future of the Airline Pilot Profession. Experienced crews in the cockpit eventually will be a thing of the past. What this country has experienced economically in the last 8 months, we have experienced in our industry for the last 8 years, since 9-11. In the wake of these 8 years of financial turmoil, bankruptcies, layoffs, and revolving door management teams, airline piloting careers have been shattered.

I personally earn half of what I once earned, AND I have lost my retirement to a PBGC promise that will pay pennies on the dollar. Many pilots like Captain Sullenberger and myself have had to split their focus from the Airline Piloting Profession and develop alternative businesses or careers. I myself am a general contractor. For the last 6 years, I have worked 7 days a week between my two jobs just to maintain a middle class standard of living.

The more than thirty thousand people who work at US Airways are proud of the work they do each day, and of their accomplishments. To many of us, the near total devaluation of our professions by our management is heartfelt. In the last several years the only constant I see is the ever increasing compensation levels of our management.

When I started in this industry there were aviation dynasties. Entire families would be employed in aviation as pilots, flight attendants, mechanics or agents. An aviation career was something people aspired to their entire childhood, as I did. Now I know of NO ONE who encourages their children to enter the airline industry. From our perspective, it is clear that the current state of the management/ labor negotiation process is broken. Negotiations drag out for years in stagnation with little clarity for those of us who have spent our entire lives training to be on the front lines of safety for the American flying public. We aren’t asking for special privileges, but for a level playing field inside the NMB negotiating process. There is not a balance in the negotiating process and the state of the airline piloting profession is proof.

I would respectfully urge members of this subcommittee to work with other relevant committees to promote better balance between airline management and airline employees, especially in the area of creating an environment for efficient and effective negotiations inside the National Mediation Board process, thereby eliminating years of negotiating stagnation. I believe the reforms being considered by the House Judiciary committee can lead to more cooperation and less confrontation. This in turn would certainly help to rebuild an environment that will allow us to concentrate on the safety of the traveling public.

Our colleagues in this industry have rallied around our incident. While Captain Sullenberger and I generally prefer to land at airports, we are proud that the Hudson River landing displayed what well trained, professional pilots and flight attendants can do when faced with tremendous adversity. We are all very gratified and moved that our colleagues in the flying industry have seen this incident as a positive reflection of themselves and our shared profession.

We must ensure that America’s proud aviation traditions of transporting our citizens with safety and security does not fall victim to the immense challenges we face. In this, Congress has a role to play. We hope that you will take seriously the challenges that aviation professional’s face by helping us to level the playing field, and working with us to protect the airline pilot profession.

We ask that congress be a partner to the men and woman who make up the professionals who move America every day, as well as the companies who employ us. Working together we can ensure that the flight crews of the future will be the best and the brightest, and will have the experience and training necessary to ensure safe air travel to each and every passenger they carry.

==================

Timeline of FDNY & NYPD immediate response
Flight 1549 Transcript of cockpit recording + Teterboro
Flight 1549 Cockpit recording (video audio)

===================

Flight 1549: Testifimony before Congress - summary
Flight 1549: Capt Sullenberger before Congress
Flight 1549: First Officer Jeff Skiles before Congress
Flight 1549: Air Traffic Controller Pat Harten before Congress
Flight 1549: Sheila Dail, Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh before Congress

Flight 1549 testifies before Congress - summary

UPDATED (4-18) Crew of Flight 1549 appearances

February 24, 2009
Hearing on U.S. Airways Flight 1549
Testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation

The Crew of Flight 1549: Capt Sullenberger, First Officer, Jeff Skiles, Flight Attendants: Doreen Welsh, Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Air Traffic Controller, Pat Harten (the mystery voice on the cockpit recordings) appeared before Congress. What they had to say was an indictment on the airline industry, especially they are all career airline people. Between them they have ~160 years of experience.

Here’s the rather anemic ovation for the Flight Crew.

(Tuscon Citizen)

Captain Sullenberger, Jeff Skiles and Pat Harten.

They sure looked happy to see each other. Harten never said how long it took for him to find out or what he did or felt when he heard. That’s what I’m curious about. I never saw an interview with Harten. Guess we wait for the books or the movie. Surprised one isn’t out yet.

• Lives saved because of a concerted effort of a very experienced, well-trained flight crew, the guidance of expert air traffic controllers, the passengers themselves and the first responders in the water. That was truly a sight to see. Within 5 minutes passengers were being rescued off the wings.

• HARTEN: He knew what Sully meant when he said he was going in the Hudson and that he was “going to be the last person to talk to anyone on that plane alive.” In the couple of minutes it took to go down - Harten talked with 14 people to try to get a runway open. If you haven’t listened to the tape, it’s worthwhile. The relevant part is less than 5 minutes. [Links below] And although Harten was relieved very quickly (the anguish in his voice is tough to hear) they made him stay for another 6 hours - answering questions and doing reports - before he could go home and relax.

• SKILES: 32 years in aviation, approximately 20,000 hours of flight time. Earns 50% less and lost his retirement to a PBGC promise that will pay pennies on the dollar.

• SKILES: “Experienced crews in the cockpit eventually will be a thing of the past”.

• SULLENBERGER: 42 years in aviation, USAF, accident investigation, 29 years airline industry, 20,000 hours of flight time and nearly 1 million passengers flown safely. Even with his experience and safety record, his pay was cut by 40% and his pension was terminated and replaced with some as Skiles. When his company offered, 60% of laid off pilots refused to return to work.

• SULLY: “management must work with labor to bargain in good faith”

• SKILES: “promote better balance between airline management and airline employees” Especially in mediation.
  

• BOTH said they know no one who is encouraging their children to follow in their footsteps.

• BOTH have other jobs as a necessary supplement to their income.

• SULLY: founded an aviation consulting business: Safety Reliability Methods, Inc.

• SKILES: has worked as a general contractor for the last 6 years (working 7 days a week) just to maintain a middle class existence. And he lives in a town south of Madison, Wisconsin with a census around 10K.

• The bird strikes are becoming a real problem with the population of Canada geese increasing 4-fold in the last 20 years. Think they’ll be eating a Christmas goose this year?

• Bird detecting radar is available. The Air Force noticed a marked decrease - zero - in strikes at one of their bases in North Carolina. [see link below] They offered a unit to LaGuardia after the events of Jan 15th. Evidently they are very expensive. How much is one life worth in civil court? 155? And what about the domino effect when a plane has to return or make an emergency landing?

===================

Timeline of FDNY & NYPD immediate response
Flight 1549 Transcript of cockpit recording + Teterboro
Flight 1549 Cockpit recording (video audio)

USAF donates bird-detecting radar to LaGuardia

===================

Flight 1549: Testifimony before Congress - summary
Flight 1549: Capt Sullenberger before Congress
Flight 1549: First Officer Jeff Skiles before Congress
Flight 1549: Air Traffic Controller Pat Harten before Congress
Flight 1549: Sheila Dail, Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh before Congress

Flight 1549: Sheila Dail, Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh before Congress

UPDATED (4-18) Crew of Flight 1549 appearances

February 24, 2009
Hearing on U.S. Airways Flight 1549
Testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation

Present were Captain Sullenberger, First Officer Jeff Skiles, Flight Attendants: Sheila Dail, Doreen Welsh, Donna Dent and Air Traffic Controller, Pat Harten.

They did not have prepared statements like the men did. They didn’t say much more than what they had described before = the disparity between the front and the back of the plane, didn’t know they had landed on water, they waited for the cockpit commands and then followed their training. Welsh was still not wearing her uniform. I don’t see her returning. Donna Dent is the one I worry about.

Flight 1549: Testifimony before Congress - summary
Flight 1549: Capt Sullenberger before Congress
Flight 1549: First Officer Jeff Skiles before Congress
Flight 1549: Air Traffic Controller Pat Harten before Congress
Flight 1549: Sheila Dail, Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh before Congress

Flight 1549: Capt Sullenberger before Congress

March 10, 2009

UPDATED (4-18) Crew of Flight 1549 appearances

STATEMENT OF CAPTAIN CHESLEY B. SULLENBERGER, III
CAPTAIN, US AIRWAYS FLIGHT 1549
Before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation
Hearing on U.S. Airways Flight 1549
February 24, 2009

Captain Sullenberger and the rest of the Flight 1549 Crew went before Congress. The received a warm ovation before the proceedings started. Pat Harten the Air Traffic Controller was also present. Sullenberger argued that talented folks are not choosing aviation for their profession. Sullenberger’s own pay was cut 40% and his pension has been terminated and replaced by a PBGC guarantee worth only pennies on the dollar. 23 years and no pension? Imagine if the crew didn’t love their jobs? Imagine if they had decided to not take the pay cut and left the airlines. I doubt the outcome would have been so fortunate.

nancy pelosi

Statement

Chairman Costello, Chairman Oberstar, Ranking Members Mica and Petri, and other members of the committee, it is my great honor to appear before the Aviation Subcommittee today. I am proud of the fact that I have been involved in aviation for the last 42 years. During that time, I have served our country as a U. S. Air Force pilot, served as an Air Line Pilots Association Local Air Safety Committee Chairman, accident investigator and national technical committee member, amassed a total flying time of almost 20,000 hours and flown approximately one million passengers in my 29 years as a professional airline pilot. I have served as a Check Airman and a Crew Resource Management course developer and facilitator. I am also the founder of Safety Reliability Methods, Inc.

Before I begin, I must first say that my heart goes out to all those affected by the tragic loss of Continental Connection flight 3407. Words cannot express my sadness and grief at the loss of 50 lives. The families of those no longer with us are in my thoughts and in my heart.

The events of January 15, 2009 have been well-documented, and rather than recite them now in great detail, I want only to reiterate to the subcommittee that the successful outcome was achieved by the actions of many. Lives were saved due to the combination of a very experienced, well-trained crew: First Officer Jeff Skiles, and Flight Attendants Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh and Sheila Dail, all of whom acted in a remarkable display of teamwork, along with expert air traffic controllers, the orderly cooperation of our cool- headed passengers, and the quick and determined actions of the professional and volunteer first responders in New York City.

The events of January 15 serve as a reminder to us all of the daily devotion to duty of the many thousands of aviation professionals who keep air travel safe, and also as a reminder of what is really at stake. Like thousands of my fellow professional airline pilots, I know that flying a large commercial airliner is a tremendous responsibility. We understand that our passengers put their lives in our hands. We know that we must always be prepared. We must always anticipate. We must always be vigilant. Expecting the unexpected and having an effective plan for dealing with it must be in the very makeup of every professional airline pilot.

I am not only proud of my crew, I am proud of my profession. Flying has been my life-long passion. I count myself fortunate to have spent my life in the profession I love, with colleagues whom I respect and admire. But, honorable Representatives, while I love my profession, I do not like what has happened to it. I would not be doing my duty if I did not report to you that I am deeply worried about its future.

Americans have been experiencing huge economic difficulties in recent months – but airline employees have been experiencing those challenges, and more, for the last 8 years! We have been hit by an economic tsunami. September 11, bankruptcies, fluctuating fuel prices, mergers, loss of pensions and revolving door management teams who have used airline employees as an ATM have left the people who work for airlines in the United States with extreme economic difficulties.

It is an incredible testament to the collective character, professionalism and dedication of my colleagues in the industry that they are still able to function at such a high level. It is my personal experience that my decision to remain in the profession I love has come at a great financial cost to me and my family. My pay has been cut 40%, my pension, like most airline pensions, has been terminated and replaced by a PBGC guarantee worth only pennies on the dollar.

While airline pilots are by no means alone in our financial struggles – and I want to acknowledge how difficult it is for everyone right now – it is important to underscore that the terms of our employment have changed dramatically from when I began my career, leading to an untenable financial situation for pilots and their families. When my company offered pilots who had been laid off the chance to return to work, 60% refused.

Members, I attempt to speak accurately and plainly, so please do not think I exaggerate when I say that I do not know a single professional airline pilot who wants his or her children to follow in their footsteps.

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. That past investment was an indispensable element in our commercial aviation infrastructure, vital to safe air travel and our country’s economy and security. If we do not sufficiently value the airline piloting profession and future pilots are less experienced and less skilled, it logically follows that we will see negative consequences to the flying public – and to our country.

We face remarkable challenges in our industry. In order to ensure economic security and an uncompromising approach to passenger safety, management must work with labor to bargain in good faith. We must find collective solutions that address the huge economic issues we face in recruiting and retaining the experienced and highly skilled professionals that the industry requires and that passenger safety demands. But further, we must develop and sustain an environment in every airline and aviation organization – a culture that balances the competing needs of accountability and learning. We must create and maintain the trust that is the absolutely essential element of a successful and sustainable safety reporting system to detect and correct deficiencies before they lead to an accident.

We must not let the economic and financial pressures detract from a focus on constantly improving our safety measures and engaging in ongoing and comprehensive training. In aviation, the bottom line is that the single most important piece of safety equipment is an experienced, well-trained pilot.

Despite the bad economic news we’ve experienced in recent times – despite the many challenges we face as a country – I have faith in America, in our people, in our promise.

I have briefly touched upon some major problems in my industry today – but I do not believe they are intractable, should we decide to work collectively to solve them. We all have roles to play in this effort. Despite the economic turbulence hitting our industry, the airline companies must refocus their attention – and their resources – on the recruitment and retention of highly experienced and well-trained pilots, and make that a priority that is at least equal to their financial bottom line. Jeff and I, and our fellow pilots will fly planes and continue to upgrade our education and our training, while we attempt to provide for our families. Patrick and the other talented Air Traffic Controllers will continue to guide us safely through the skies, our passengers will spend their hard-earned money to pay for their travel, and our flight attendants, mechanics, ground crews, and administrative personnel will deal with the thousands of constant details and demands that keep our planes safely in the air.

You can help us, honorable Members of Congress, to work together across party lines, and can demand – or legislate – that labor, management, safety experts, educators, technical experts, and everyday Americans join together to find solutions to these problems. We all honor our responsibilities in good faith and with respect for one another. We must keep the American commercial aviation industry safe and affordable for passengers, and financially viable for those who work in the industry day to day. And for those talented young men and women considering what to do with their lives, we must restore the narrative of a compelling career path in aviation with sufficient economic resources to once again make this vision a reality.

Thank you for your kind attention, and for the opportunity to share my perspective with this Committee.

==================

Timeline of FDNY & NYPD immediate response
Flight 1549 Transcript of cockpit recording + Teterboro
Flight 1549 Cockpit recording (video audio)

Flight 1549: Air Traffic Controller Pat Harten before Congress

March 10, 2009

UPDATED (4-18) Crew of Flight 1549 appearances

Testimony by Patrick Harten, Air Traffic Controller
Before the Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation
US Airways Flight 1549 Accident
February 24, 2009

Well I finally got to see who Pat Harten is. He was the calm voice of the air traffic controller communicating with Flight 1549 but he sounds nervous here. And he isn’t at all what his voice sounded like. I thought he’d be older and scruffy. He’s quite a pleasant surprise.

He gives straightforward testimony.

He admits to knowing what Capt Sullenberger said about going in the Hudson. He doesn’t say how long it was before he found out everyone was safe. From the Teterboro recordings they knew approximately 18 minutes later that passengers were standing on the wings. The actual transcripts and voice recordings of the cockpit communications are linked below.

aviationwatcher33

Written Statement

[Emphasis added]

Good morning Chairman Costello and Ranking Member Petri.

My name is Patrick Harten.

I have been an air traffic controller at the NY TRACON and a proud member of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association for the past 10 years.

While January 15, 2009 is forever etched in my memory, it began unremarkably. I arrived at work at 12:30pm to begin my eight-hour shift.

At 3:12 PM I was assigned to work the LaGuardia (LGA) departure RADAR position. This position handles all departures from LGA airport.

At 3:25 PM, the LGA tower controller advised me that Cactus 1549 was the next departure rolling for takeoff.

It was a routine westbound departure off of Runway 4 traveling due north on a 360 degree heading and climbing to 5,000 feet. I instructed Cactus to climb to 15,000 and turned my attention to give instructions to another aircraft under my control. I then turned back to Cactus 1549 and instructed him to turn left to heading 270, heading the aircraft towards its destination. That is when the Captain advised me that they suffered a bird strike, lost thrust in both engines, and needed to return to LGA for an emergency landing.

When a pilot tells a controller he needs to make an emergency landing, the controller must act quickly and decisively. I made a split second decision to offer him Runway 13, which was the closest runway to his current position and turned him left at a 220 heading so he could return to the airport. I then immediately contacted LGA tower to ask them to stop departures and clear the runways for an emergency return.

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. After I gave him his instructions, the Captain very calmly stated: “We’re unable.”

I quickly vectored an aircraft that was still in my airspace and then gave 1549 a second option: land on LGA Runway 31. Again the Captain said, “Unable.”

I then asked the Captain what he needed to do to land safely. At this point, my job was to coordinate and arrange for the pilot to be able to do whatever was necessary. The pilot told me that he could not land on any runway at LGA, but asked if he could land in New Jersey and suggested Teterboro.

I had experienced working traffic into TEB from my time working in the EWR sector and after coordinating with the controllers in TEB, we were able to determine that Runway 1 was the best option. It was the arrival runway, and clearing it for an emergency landing would be easier and faster. It also meant that 1549 would be landing into the wind, which could have assisted the pilot in making a safe landing. I called TEB and explained the situation. The controller at TEB reacted quickly and prepared Runway 1 for the emergency landing. I then instructed the Captain to turn right on a 280 heading to land on Runway 1.

The Captain replied: “We can’t do it.”

I replied immediately, “Which runway would you like at Teterboro?”

The captain replied: “We’re gonna be 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.

I then lost radio contact with 1549, and the target disappeared from my radar screen as he dropped below the tops of the New York City skyscrapers. I was in shock. I was sure the plane had gone down.

Less than a minute later, 1549 flickered back onto my radar scope. The aircraft was at a very low altitude, but its return to radar coverage meant that there was a possibility 1549 had regained the use of one of its engines. Grasping at that tiny glimmer of hope, I told 1549 that it could land at EWR seven miles away on Runway 29, but I received no response. I then lost radar contact again, this time for good.

I was relieved from my position a few minutes later, as soon as it was possible. I was in no position to continue to work air traffic. It was the lowest low I had ever felt. I wanted to talk to my wife. But I knew if I tried to speak or even heard her voice, I would fall apart completely. I settled for a hasty text message: “Had a Crash. Not ok. Can’t talk now.”

When I got home, she told me she thought I had been in a car accident. Truth was I felt like I’d been hit by a bus. It took six hours before I could leave the facility. I had to review the tapes, fill out paperwork and make an official statement.

It may sound strange, but for me the hardest and most traumatic part of the entire event was when it was over.

During the emergency itself, I was hyper-focused. I had no choice but to think and act quickly, and remain calm. But when it was over, it hit me hard. It felt like hours before I learned about the heroic water landing that Captain Sullenberger and his crew had managed. Even after I learned the truth, I could not shake the image of tragedy in my mind. Every time I saw the survivors on the television, I imagined grieving widows.

It has taken over a month for me to be able to see that I did a good job; I was flexible and responsive. I listened to what the pilot said and made sure to give him the tools he needed. I stayed calm and in control.

I return to work this week, and while it may take time for me to regain my old confidence; I know I will get there. I would like to end by personally recognizing the Captain and crew of Flight 1549 for their professionalism, skill and heroic efforts that day.

I also would like to recognize the professionalism of the other controllers who helped clear the skies and the runways for 1549, as well as the engineers, who helped ensure that the aircraft itself could survive the landing in the Hudson and that those inside would be safe.

Finally, I want to thank my wife Regina. She has been my rock these past few weeks—as she always has and always will be. I couldn’t have survived this without her.

Thank you Mr. Chairman. I am prepared to answer any questions you have.

==============

Timeline of FDNY & NYPD immediate response
Flight 1549 Transcript of cockpit recording + Teterboro
Flight 1549 Cockpit recording (video audio)

Updated (4-4): Crew of Flight 1549 appearances

APRIL 4, 2009

1-20 Inauguration (pix)

2-1 Super Bowl (pix)

2-3 Rick Reilly ESPN video couple of sentences about seeing Sullenberger at Super Bowl

2-7 South Pacific Sullenberger family (pix)

2-8 60 Minutes with Katie Couric (pix)
Part 1 Capt Sullenberger account (text)
Part 1 Capt Sullenberger account (video)

Part 2 Flight Crew (text)
Part 2 Flight Crew (video)

Part 3 Passengers (text)
Part 3 Passengers (video)

Video includes a still photo of President and First Lady at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball with Capt Sullenberger, Jeff Skiles, Donna Dent and Sheila Dail.

2-9 Good Morning America (video)

2-9 Early Show (video)

2-9 Keys to the City

2-10 David Letterman Show
David Letterman homemade video
David Letterman CBS video snippet

2-10 Larry King Crew of Flight 1549
Flight 1549 crew (transcript)
Part 1 (7:21)
Part 2 (8:08)

2-11 Larry King Crew of Flight 1549, passengers, rescuers
Flight 1549: crew, passengers, rescuers (transcript)
Flight 1549: passengers react to cockpit recording
Links to Larry King CNN video

2-11 Greta Van Susteren:
Part 1 (video & transcript)
Part 2 (video & transcript)
Part 3 (video)

No NBC. The Today Show refused unless they were exclusive - they were supposed to be the original interview. I don’t understand the selfishness. Each show the story becomes more complete - especially with the passenger stories. It’s their audience who is going to be angry.

Flight 1549 passenger Emma Sophina gets record deal
Emma Sophina sings “Send Another Prayer” on the Early Show

Doreen Welsh
Jeff Skiles

Pix & Videos of Flight 1549

Passenger reactions

Sullenberger tossed 1st pitch at Yankee Stadium (4-4)
Video Capt Sullenberger’s 1st pitch Yankees - Cubs (4-4)
Capt Sullenberger’s 2 book deal
Capt Sullenberger: nays running for office
Capt Sullenberger to speak at HS alma mater (6-6)
Captain Sullenberger to throw out first pitch for SF Giants (4-7)

Birds strike again - helicopter

February 23, 2009

The fatal crash of a helicopter on Jan 4th in Morgan City, Louisiana, that killed eight of the nine people aboard is now thought to be a result of a bird strike according to the NTSB. Initial visual evidence showed no obvious evidence of a bird strike but DNA testing from the windscreen tested positive for hawk DNA. it was found in the area that showed concentric ring fractures consistent with a bird strike. They also found on reexamination "small feather parts in the folds of the right-side engine inlet filter". They are still investigating other possible causes. "Snarge" is the term for bird bit remains.

Source: CNN

NTSB preliminary report

Canada geese were found to be the definitive cause of the simultaneous dual engine failure of US AIRWAYS Flight 1549 piloted by Captain Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles and womaned by Flight Attendants Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh and Sheila Dail.

I think it's time for airports to get bird-detecting radar.

Fight 1549: bird bits = Canada geese

February 12, 2009

It's official - Canada geese - identified through visual and DNA evidence. Canada geese run between 6-10lbs and the engine standard at the time the engines were produced was 4lbs. It was really quite an amazing feat of aviation.

NTSB Advisory
National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594
February 12, 2009

FOURTH UPDATE ON INVESTIGATION INTO DITCHING OF US AIRWAYS JETLINER INTO HUDSON RIVER

The following is an update on the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation of US Airways flight 1549, which ditched into the Hudson River on January 15, 2009. The bird remains found in both engines of US Airways flight 1549 have been identified by the Smithsonian Institution's Feather Identification Laboratory as Canada Goose (Branta canadensis).

The lab made the identification for the NTSB through DNA analysis as well as through morphological comparisons in which feather fragments were compared with Canada Goose specimens in the museum's collections; the microscopic feather samples were compared with reference microslide collections.

A total of 25 samples of bird remains have been examined as of today. Additional analysis will be conducted on samples received from the NTSB to attempt to determine if the Canada Geese were resident or migratory. While no determination has been made about how many birds the aircraft struck or how many were ingested into the engines, an adult Canada Goose typically ranges in size from 5.8 to 10.7 pounds, however larger individual resident birds can exceed published records.

The accident aircraft was powered by two CFM56-5B/P turbofan engines. The bird ingestion standard in effect when this engine type was certified in 1996 included the requirement that the engine must withstand the ingestion of a four-pound bird without catching fire, without releasing hazardous fragments through the engine case, without generating loads high enough to potentially compromise aircraft structural components, or without losing the capability of being shut down. The certification standard does not require that the engine be able to continue to generate thrust after ingesting a bird four pounds or larger.

NTSB investigators worked closely with wildlife biologists from the United States Department of Agriculture, both at the scene of the accident in New York City and during the engine teardowns at the manufacturer's facility in Cincinnati, to extract all of the organic material that was identified today.

FLIGHT 1549: Doreen Welsh

February 11, 2009

Crew Flight 1549 appearances

Found an interview by The Beaver County Times' TOM FONTAINE with US AIR Flight 1549 Flight Attendant, Doreen Welsh from Economy, Pennsylvania. She was the one who walked out on the field at the Super Bowl with her Steelers' towel in her hand. They wouldn't let her wear a jersey but she wasn't about to let them take away her towel. He gives a little background on her and then sets the scene.

Welsh, 58, with 38 years of experience, had been sitting by herself in the back - her preference - which hit first and bore the brunt of the impact. She has said in every interview how different her experience was from the rest of the crew. However, like the other two flight attendants, she did not know they had landed on water.

Her first indication something was wrong:

WELSH: ...it felt like we hit something, and then there was a terrible smell, like an electrical fire. People up front said it was like a hard landing, but it felt like a crash to me. It was very, very violent in the rear of the plane.

When I saw the water, that was the biggest shock of my life.

And then:

I had accepted death. But then I just got this gift. I think it was Divine Intervention.

I went absolutely insane and started pushing people out, telling them to get out on the wings.

On the surreal nature of it:

Everything was calm up front. It was like there had been two entirely different accidents. One of the flight attendants was guiding people calmly out onto a raft. She asked me why I didn't have a life jacket on, and that's when I started feeling woozy. I grabbed a vest and just slid onto the raft.

Hard to believe things could be any type of calm in that crazy situation. She got some help from the locals.

A New Jersey man pulled Welsh onto a ferry, gave her his winter hat and sent a text message to her son, notifying him of the crash. [Her son talks about this on Larry King.] A New York cop took Welsh to the hospital, stayed throughout her hour long surgery and visited the next day. And a US Airways flight attendant supervisor named Jeff Ayers was at the hospital until Welsh's discharge two days later. Ayers, as it turned out, is originally from Hopewell Township.

WELSH: I felt so alone and frightened. I don't know what I would have done without them.

She said on Larry King that her son was the first face she saw when she emerged from surgery. She declined barry's invite and was evidently feeling so bad she declined an offer from Steelers owner Dan Rooney to watch the team's AFC Championship game from a Heinz Field luxury box. Hope she got a rain check. As for the Super Bowl?

WELSH: I probably overdid it there, but it was worth it. It was the experience of a lifetime.

Is she a hero?

I'm just a little old Ambridge girl, so this has all been surreal. I don't really understand it. We (the crew members) all went above and beyond the call of duty, I guess, but 'hero' is a big word.

I did what I was trained to do.

I argue she did more than that. She accepted her death and then chose to live so she could get the other people off the flight. You cannot be trained to do that. I hope she writes a book about that exact moment. I'd be more interested in that then an aeronautical engineer's explanation of the mechanics of flight, gliding and water landings. That's what computers are for. Welsh had a unique experience that only she can share and I sure hope she is writing about it.

She has flown several times - but she is not ready to work one one yet. Her thoughts:

I can't even imagine putting on my uniform at this point. I still have some things to work through.

I'm not sure if I'll ever work as a flight attendant again.

We'll see what happens. I'm just glad to be here.

Doreen Welsh (The Times/KEVIN LORENZI)

Larry King: Crew of Flight 1549, passengers and rescuers (Transcript)

February 11, 2009

Crew Flight 1549 appearances

2-10 Flight 1549 Flight Crew
Flight 1549 crew (transcript)
Part 1 (7:21)
Part 2 (8:08)

2-11 Flight crew, passengers, rescuers
Flight 1549 crew, passengers, rescuers (transcript)
Flight 1549 passengers react to cockpit recording
Links to Larry King CNN video

Flight 1549 passenger Emma Sophina gets record deal
Emma Sophina sings "Send Another Prayer" on the Early Show

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, passengers of "The Miracle on the Hudson" meet the crew. They thought they were going to die.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

And as I saw the water coming in closer and closer, so I just kind of accepted the fact that I was going to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: But a handful of people couldn't or wouldn't let it happen. And now the reunion for the first time in person...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Can I give you a hug?

Oh, of course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: They say thank you for safely ditching their jet in the river, for keeping families together, for saving moms and dads and children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

On behalf of my wife and daughter and myself, thank you very much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

On behalf of my wife and daughter and myself, thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: All 155 people on board and Captain Sully has his own heroes. Meet them, too -- the rescuers on the water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

I had got the passengers to the surface. The flight attendants got them out and you saved them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: They risked their lives to help the desperate victims. It's a reunion to remember. It's next on LARRY KING LIVE. Good evening.

Tonight, joining us for another special hour, the captain and crew of U.S.

Airways flight 1549. You will hear from several of the passengers tonight and the rescue workers who dragged them to safety. They're excited about seeing each other. And they will shortly.

And, by the way, later we'll meet some of the passengers joining us live from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Captain Sully Sullenberger, First Officer Jeffrey Skiles, Flight Attendant Sheila Dail, Flight Attendant Doreen Welsh and Flight Attendant Donna Dent all return.

By the way, do you enjoy the -- Captain, did you enjoy this?

Because it was so hard to get you at first.

CAPT. CHESLEY "SULLY" SULLENBERGER, PILOT, "MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON": Oh, it's great to be here.

We have a story to tell that I think some good will come from. And I feel like I've been chosen by circumstance to temporarily represent members of my profession. And I'm determined to do the best job I can.

And I want to recognize my crew. It was a team effort. Without the efforts of all of them, it wouldn't have been possible. And, of course, without the first responders, it would not have been possible.

KING: Before we get to the first responders and passengers, we want to remind our viewers of the harrowing moments on US Airways Flight 1549.

Here's the story in Captain "Sully's" own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SULLENBERGER: It was a good day. The weather in New York cleared. The airplane was in great shape and we were all set to go.

Cactus 1549, 700 climbing to 5,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cactus 1529, your departure to contact fine. Maintain 1-5,000.

SULLENBERGER: Maintain 5-1,500, Cactus 1549.

I said to Jeff, "Birds" and then a second later they struck the airplane.

There were many large birds that struck all over the airplane, pelted us like hail and severely damaged both engines. The thrust has been lost suddenly on both engines and my initial focus was to lower the nose to maintain a safe flying speed, to maintain control of the airplane while we were assessing the situation and coming up with a plan.

This is Cactus 1549. We hit birds. We have lost thrust in both engines. We're turning back toward LaGuardia.

KING: So you knew you were going to have to go some -- you were going to have to land -- you knew you were going to crash?

SULLENBERGER: I wouldn't put it quite that way. I -- I would say that I expected that this was not going to be like every other flight I had flown for my entire career and it probably would not end on a runway with the airplane undamaged.

I quickly determined that we were at too low an altitude at too slow a speed and therefore do not have enough energy to return to LaGuardia, because it's too far away and we're headed away from it.

After briefly considering the only other nearby airport, which is Teterboro in New Jersey, I realized it's too far away. And the penalty for choosing wrongly and attempting to make a runway I could not make might be catastrophic for all of us on the airplane plus people on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cactus 1529, we couldn't get it for you.

Do you want to try to land on Runway 1-3?

SULLENBERGER: We're unable. We may end up in the Hudson.

When we first landed and the airplane came to a stop, it was better than I expected. I sensed that the aircraft was intact, that the touchdown was survivable and that we had a good chance of getting everybody out. I was confidant.

My most important duty at that point -- since we had lost the electrical power and the public address system would not work, was to open that cockpit door and shout into the cabin the order, "Evacuate!"

KING: You went back through twice, right, to make sure everyone was off?

SULLENBERGER: I had time. I could leave no chance that there would be anybody left behind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Well, you were all wonderful last night and I'm glad you agreed to do another night with us, especially with the passengers -- some you may be seeing for the first time since the water.

Anyway, let's bring out our first survivor. He was in seat 1C.

Barry Leonard -- come on in, Bar. Barry, you'll sit right next to the captain.

BARRY LEONARD, SURVIVOR, "MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON": Thank you.

SULLENBERGER: Hi.

Very good to see you.

LEONARD: Good to see you, too.

FIRST OFFICER JEFFREY SKILES, CO-PILOT, "MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON": Hi, Barry.

LEONARD: Hi.

KING: You -- you tried to swim?

LEONARD: Well, I was in the seat 1C. And when I was told to unfasten my seat belt and go to the door, I'm very good at following directions. And so that's what I did. And at that point, after the door was open, the raft did not deploy. And I heard someone say from behind me: "Jump, jump."

So I, again, followed directions. So I...

(LAUGHTER)

LEONARD: First I took my shoes off and then I...

KING: You're a robot?

LEONARD: And then I jumped. And then I jumped. And...

KING: And wound up where?

LEONARD: I -- basically what I did was I swam out for about a minute. I was just trying to find out where the shores were, because I had no idea where we were -- if we were in the middle of the Hudson or close to one of the shores. And after swimming out for about a minute, I realized we were in the middle. So at that point I turned around and went back. And the raft was deployed. And it was great from there on. You know, I was just so thankful, because I knew I had about five minutes in the water.

KING: Were the passengers as calm as described last night?

LEONARD: Absolutely.

KING: They were?

LEONARD: Yes, absolutely.

KING: All right.

How does it feel to be here with the crew? LEONARD: Well, it's a -- it's a wild factor for me. It's -- what happens is that I think about it as six degrees of separation. You know, for each one of the 155 people, you all had an impact of probably tens of thousands of people, you know. And I mean I just can't tell you how much my family and my friends and everyone has just -- you know, sends their best wishes and thank you for, you know, really saving all of our lives.

KING: Does it feel interesting to see a passenger?

SULLENBERGER: Oh, it feels great. We've seen them in Charlotte. We've seen them here in New York. It's been just the most wonderful experience for -- for all of us.

KING: You saved their lives (INAUDIBLE) to feel that.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: You were injured, right?

LEONARD: Yes, sir. I -- basically, I was in the brace position in the first seat. So there was a bulkhead there. And I -- I cracked my sternum when -- at the impact. And so I was in the hospital for a couple of days.

KING: Have you flown since?

LEONARD: I -- I've been on 10 flights since then.

KING: Help them. They don't fly.

(LAUGHTER)

LEONARD: You know, I...

KING: Were you worried at first?

LEONARD: You know, it was amazing. After Captain Sully said: "Brace for impact," I was totally at peace. And I -- I can't explain why, really. But I was totally at peace until the guy that was sitting next to me grabbed me by the arm and he said: "We're going to die, aren't we?"

And I said -- I said: "No. Everything is going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine." And -- which it was. I had -- I had total confidence that everything was going to be OK.

KING: You did not think you were going to die?

LEONARD: I did not think we were going to die. No.

KING: Did anybody here think it?

You did.

You did, Doreen?

DOREEN WELSH, FLIGHT ATTENDANT, "MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON": I did.

KING: The captain ever thought it?

SULLENBERGER: No. But I understand why Doreen did. She faced a different challenge in the back than we did in front.

KING: Yes, she got hit harder. She got injured.

SULLENBERGER: Yes. Yes.

KING: She got scared more.

The water was coming in there, right?

SULLENBERGER: Yes.

WELSH: Oh, yes. It was (INAUDIBLE). So I was...

KING: The water was up to where?

WELSH: My whole uniform was wet from the neck down when I got -- so it was pretty -- I mean, I remember thinking I have seconds. So I guess about here.

KING: What do you do for a living, Barry?

LEONARD: I'm a CEO of some home fashions companies. And I actually live in Charlotte and work in Manhattan.

KING: You commute?

LEONARD: Every week.

KING: On US Air?

LEONARD: On US Air. Chairmen's Preferred.

KING: You still fly US Air then, right?

LEONARD: All the time. I flew them all over the country two weeks ago, the West Coast and back.

SULLENBERGER: It was these experienced travelers who followed directions and behaved so admirably that were a big factor in the success of this evacuation.

KING: Yes, that's the key here, right Jeffrey -- that he is used to flying?

SKILES: Oh, I think very much so.

SULLENBERGER: Oh, yes.

SKILES: Out of New York City, of course, you're going to have a higher percentage of experienced travelers. And they certainly were. They did their jobs. And I hope you got a tetanus shot after swimming in that Hudson, Barry.

(LAUGHTER)

LEONARD: They actually did.

(CROSSTALK)

LEONARD: In the E.R. they actually said that I should be on some antibiotics, probably.

(LAUGHTER)

LEONARD: But I also wanted to say that, you know, I think the pilots that had flown that route -- you know, you had that experience, as well, of knowing what the options were. If it -- if it had been a pilot that hadn't had that experience, maybe, you know, you wouldn't have known what...

KING: Never flying that -- yes, that's a good...

LEONARD: You know.

KING: Barry, hang with us.

LEONARD: Yes, sir.

KING: Stay with us.

LEONARD: OK.

KING: Barry Leonard.

We're meeting more survivors.

How can someone be completely at peace as a catastrophe looms?

We'll ask a passenger who knows what it's like to have a life flash in front of them -- and reunite with the crew for the first time, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SULLENBERGER: That photograph is obviously an iconic image of this entire event. On the other hand, I was -- I was gratified that we got everybody out, that everyone thus far was safe and they were being rescued. I -- I instructed the rescue vessels that were within earshot of me to rescue people on the wings first, because they were obviously in a more precarious position and getting much colder than we in the rafts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Our next survivor will be meeting the crew for the first time. Let's say hello to Jim Hanks.

Jim, come on in.

JIM HANKS, SURVIVOR, "MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON": Hi, Captain.

How are you?

SULLENBERGER: Hi, Jim.

It's good to meet you.

HANKS: Very nice to meet you.

SULLENBERGER: Thank you for joining us.

HANKS: Thank you so much.

KING: Now, Jim, you were seated close to the back, right?

HANKS: I was. I was in seat 22C.

KING: So Doreen was your flight attendant?

HANKS: Yes, I understand she was in the rear.

KING: Do you remember her?

HANKS: Actually, I can't say that I remember her from the aircraft. As it happened, when I exited the aircraft from the front right exit, she was in the life raft and I wound up sitting next to her. And I saw the rather bad cut on her calf and tried to assist, with another passenger.

KING: How does it feel for you, Jim, to see them all and be around them all?

HANKS: Well, I'm very grateful to be able to say personally to Captain Sullenberger and the other members of the crew, on behalf of my wife and daughter and myself, thank you very much.

SULLENBERGER: Well, we're (INAUDIBLE).

KING: Where were you on the plane? Where were you -- were you by the window?

HANKS: No, I was on the aisle.

KING: What do you remember about the impact?

HANKS: Well, the impact was very, very strong and dramatic, because that was in the rear of the aircraft. And it felt like we landed right below where I was sitting, which, in fact, I guess is what happened.

And so it was a very dramatic impact -- a lot of noise. And it seemed very sudden, though. It happened and then it was over.

KING: Did you hear the birds hit the plane?

HANKS: I did not hear -- the birds may have hit the plane, I think, until later.

KING: Were you thinking -- did you think you bought it?

Did you think you were going to die?

HANKS: Well, actually, one of the things I discovered is that in a situation like this, you have to survive more than once. You have to survive the crash, the landing, which we did. And then you have to survive whatever comes afterwards, whether it's a fire or, in this case, water filling the back of the cabin very quickly. And then you have to survive whatever comes after that, which, you know on this day was a 20 degree air temperature and some passengers, like myself, who had water up to their neck and were wet.

KING: God.

Were you the last passenger off the plane?

HANKS: I think I may have been, because, I -- on the way down, I was thinking about what to do. And I remembered the airline's instructions that you hear all the time on just about every airline, that in the case of an emergency evacuation, go to the exit that's nearest you, which may be behind you. And there I was almost to the rear.

So I decided that I would go to rear exit. And after the immediate impact, I stepped out into the aisle.

And the water, at that point, was already up to my waist. I moved to the rear. I understand that another passenger may have done the same thing. I didn't see him, but I saw him on a program a while ago saying that he had done the same thing. He may have been further back in the aircraft and gotten there and left before I did.

But when I got to the rear, I saw that the door had been wrenched in its casing.

KING: And you couldn't get out?

HANKS: There was no way it was going to be opened.

KING: So you had to go back to a front door?

HANKS: That's right. But yet it had been wrenched in a way that created a couple of openings between the door itself and the casing. So water was coming. But I could see that there was no point in trying to stay any longer. And in just that short period of time, the 15 or 20 seconds had elapsed, the water by then was already up to my neck. And I thought that I was going to drown.

KING: We're doing a kind of reunion here. So, Jim, you hang around.

(CROSSTALK)

KING: Next, one of the passengers who was on the wing -- his story in 60 seconds.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cactus 1529, which engines?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He lost thrust in both engines, he said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cactus 1529, we couldn't get it to you.

Do you want to try to land on Runway 1-3?

SULLENBERGER: We're unable. We may end up in the Hudson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Our next survivor was in seat 16F by the window, right behind the right wing. And he was on, our guest tonight -- he was a guest, rather, with us the night of the crash.

Let's meet Alberto Panero.

Alberto, it's nice to have you back again.

ALBERTO PANERO, SURVIVOR, "THE MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON": How is it going, guys?

Good to see you.

KING: This time right in person.

PANERO: Yes. Good.

How are you doing, Captain?

SULLENBERGER: Hi. Good to see you.

PANERO: Same here.

KING: The crew.

WELSH: Hey, Alberto.

PANERO: How are you?

WELSH: Good. How are you?

PANERO: Good.

KING: And that first night you were on with us, Alberto.

PANERO: Yes. That's right.

KING: This is nothing to you. This was a walk in the park.

PANERO: It was a walk in the park. Not really, but...

KING: Have you gotten over it?

PANERO: I'm in the process. You know, I've tried to, you know, use what I've learned from the whole experience into my medical career -- you know, seeing how much training goes into reacting in situations. I've been really trying to shift the focus from the accident into focusing on training as hard as I can, to be the best doctor I can be because...

KING: How far along are you?

PANERO: I graduate in May. So...

KING: From?

PANERO: From Nova Southeastern University. So I know, you know, in very short months, I'm going to have peoples' lives in my hands, just like he did. And there's going to come a time where I'm going to have to use my training to save their lives.

KING: We'll be right back with more of the Alberto Panero story, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sully, I want you to fly every plane I'm on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sully, well played, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope those angels keep riding with you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These guys are heroes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish you well, Sully. Congratulations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We're back with the crew of "The Miracle."

And joining us -- staying with us is Alberto Panero, the survivor. He was one of our guests, as we said, the night of the show.

Did you think you bought it?

Did you think you were going to die?

PANERO: Yes. I think one I heard: "Brace for impact," that's kind of when things started going -- you know, part of me was trying to keep myself calm and tell me that everything was going to be OK. But, you know, obviously, I was in the window, so I saw the water coming in closer and closer. So I just kind of accepted the fact that I was going to die and, you know, in a sense, I was just like, all right, bring it on.

KING: How does it feel to be sitting next to the pilot and be with the crew?

PANERO: I mean, it's a wonderful feeling just to be able to say think you and just to be here and see that everybody here is OK -- not just me or just a couple of people. It's just the fact that everybody made it alive. It's just a wonderful feeling.

KING: What did you think when you heard "Brace for impact?"

PANERO: Well, up to that moment, I thought that we were headed back to LaGuardia. I thought that maybe the right engine was still functioning. I know that you can fly on one engine.

And once I heard those words, it was more of a -- just a reassurance that, no, we're not going back to LaGuardia. We're going to hit the water and pretty quickly.

KING: Did you know the birds hit the plane?

PANERO: No. I didn't know what -- what actually happened. I knew that something had hit the left engine. I could smell the smoke. And, you know, I -- you could sense that something was wrong. But there was no way for me to tell that it was birds.

KING: You wound up on the wing, right?

PANERO: Initially, yes. I went into the right wing. But the raft, for some reason, was all kind of bent into shape. They hadn't pulled it out right away. So since I was still close to the door, I peeked back in and there was a -- basically a straight line. And it wasn't crowded. And all I could see was the captain and I believe the stewardess over there. And I just remember seeing them. And I just started running towards the front. And they were just pointing to get out to the door.

KING: Now, when you got out, that was pretty cold, right?

PANERO: Yes. I mean, that's the main reason I went into the raft, because when I got out on the wing, my feet started getting so cold just from, you know, the water rising, that I said, you know, this is probably not the best idea. I'm going to -- you know, once I got out, I'm like, I'll float, I'll swim, I'll do whatever I have to do.

Once I realized how cold it was, I'm like, oh, this might now be the best idea. So I saw some space in the raft and that's when I went for it.

KING: What about the rescue people from New York?

PANERO: Man, they did a great job. You know, as soon as everything got pretty much stabilized on the raft, that's when I initially looked up and I already saw the ferry coming. And it was just -- you know, that's when I knew that we were going to be OK.

KING: What's it like to see these survivors, Captain?

SULLENBERGER: Wonderful. I cannot explain to you what a tremendous sense of relief I felt that night when it was official, that I finally knew that the total was 155, that everyone was safe. And to see them and to meet them and meet their families and hear their stories is just simply wonderful.

KING: What's it like for you, Donna?

DONNA DENT, FLIGHT ATTENDANT, "MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON"

It's wonderful.

KING: Doreen?

WELSH: Oh, wonderful. I mean, we went through all this together. It's just...

KING: Because you all shared the experience.

WELSH: We shared something that...

KING: You will have that all of your life.

WELSH: Forever.

KING: Yes, how do -- do you feel the same way?

Captain DAIL, FLIGHT ATTENDANT, "MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON": Um-hmm. And to hear their stories, it just fills in, you know, the missing pieces. Because when you're doing it, you don't remember everything. And then you're hearing the story from their (INAUDIBLE).

KING: Yes. And you're forever kind of bound together, you know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PANERO: Yes, absolutely.

KING: In a common experience.

PANERO: Especially, you know, we were on the same raft.

KING: Oh, you were on that raft, too?

PANERO: Um-hmm. And it seems like we all just formed this bond that night. But you could see, even when I've met other groups of people, you know, people kind of tend to group themselves as the crew from the right wing, the crew from the left raft...

(LAUGHTER)

PANERO: You know, and we're the crew from the right raft, you know, so...

(CROSSTALK)

KING: If you just tuned in, that was not political.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: One survivor's view of strangers and how she reacts to them is changed forever by her experience on the Miracle flight. This is the first time she will reunite with the flight crew. And that reunion takes place when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Our next passenger joining us was in seat 20-C. And this will be the first time meeting the crew since the crash, Beth McHugh.

Beth, come on aboard.

BETH MCHUGH, U.S. AIRWAYS FLIGHT 1549 PASSENGER: Thank you.

KING: This has got to be some kind of, I guess, thrill is the right word?

MCHUGH: Can I give you a hug?

SULLENBERGER: Good to meet you.

MCHUGH: So good to meet you.

KING: Doreen, the whole crew is here.

Now, Beth, I understand that you're a regular flyer and knew right away you were in trouble.

MCHUGH: Yes.

KING: Since you heard a noise.

MCHUGH: Yes. I fly every week on U.S. Airways. I heard the engine -- the explosion. And I knew it was bad. You hear sounds on a plane all of the time and you kind of get to know what sounds OK and what sounds not OK.

KING: Did you know it was birds?

MCHUGH: I didn't. I had no idea.

KING: Is it true you were on a plane hit by lightning?

MCHUGH: Years ago. But planes do get struck by lightning and nothing happens. You know, it's just -- we saw a flash and saw it hit the wing, and then the pilot came on and said, it's OK, we didn't sustain any damage. And we were fine.

KING: He didn't say, prepare for impact.

MCHUGH: No.

(LAUGHTER)

MCHUGH: I had never heard that before.

KING: You -- I understand you heard a woman scream?

MCHUGH: Behind me -- a few rows behind me, just when the engine -- that sound of the engine blowing. And she just made a quick little scream, like a startled scream. And I remember hearing Doreen say -- she jumped up, I think, and Doreen said, please keep -- stay seated, fasten you seat belt.

KING: What do you think of the job the flight attendants did?

MCHUGH: Oh, it was incredible. All of the crew were incredible. I felt -- I was afraid that maybe Doreen hadn't been able to get back into her seat in time for the impact. And so I was afraid that she might have been hurt. And then I --

KING: You were worried about the crew?

MCHUGH: Well, only -- it was just briefly. I wasn't as worried about the crew. But I knew later on that she might have been hurt, because I didn't think she had time to get in her seat.

KING: We're hearing from the survivors, what's it like to hear their stories, Sully?

SULLENBERGER: It's wonderful to hear their stories. And it's fascinating to hear their stories, because they're relating things I could not directly observe.

KING: Yes.

SULLENBERGER: It's filling in a lot of gaps in my understanding of exactly what transpired --

KING: Putting it all together.

SULLENBERGER: Putting it all together.

KING: What's it like for you, Jeffrey?

SKILES: Oh, it's -- I mean, it's very interesting hearing their stories, particularly as pilots. We don't have the contact day-to-day with the passengers that flight attendants do, because they're behind the locked doors. So it's very gratifying hearing their stories.

KING: It brings some clarity, right, Sheila?

DAIL: Right. It does.

SULLENBERGER: But no surprises, because I know that our flight attendants did exactly what they were trained to do.

KING: Beth, do you think about it a lot?

MCHUGH: Often. I wake up in the morning and it's one of the first things I think about. But I'm thinking more about what am I going to get to do with the rest of this life I've been given back now.

KING: Where do you live?

MCHUGH: I live in a small town outside of Charlotte, in Lake Wylie, South Carolina.

KING: I ask that because what's it like for you when you are in New York?

MCHUGH: Well --

KING: Well, that's where there is -- all of this happened?

MCHUGH: Oh, all of this happened, yes. I'm up here every week in the New York/New Jersey area. And so being up here -- I've always loved the New York/New Jersey area. Now, of course, I love it even more because of how they responded. The response was wonderful.

KING: Do you see the Hudson?

MCHUGH: Yes. In fact, flying home last Thursday from Newark, we took the same path out and over, but going the opposite direction. And I could see exactly where we had been in the Hudson as I flew over it.

KING: What was it like to be in the Hudson?

MCHUGH: Cold.

(LAUGHTER)

MCHUGH: Really, really cold.

KING: Was it choppy?

MCHUGH: I didn't -- I was in one of the life rafts. It wasn't choppy until the helicopters came over. At least I didn't feel it was. You know, my impression maybe isn't the best memory. But it didn't feel like it was choppy. But the helicopters chopped up the water somewhat.

KING: What was it like to look at the plane sitting in the water?

MCHUGH: Scary. And when I see the pictures now and I see the damage to the right engine and I think of what it could have been, it's a little scary to see it.

KING: Do you wonder why it didn't sink?

MCHUGH: I know enough about aircrafts to know that they're sealed pretty well. They make them a little bit buoyant. But I know also now that there was a hole in the tail of the plane and that the door was open. And that's why the water was up around my knees within three seconds, so.

KING: But you have flown a lot since, right?

MCHUGH: Yes. I've been on about --

KING: So you don't fear birds or anything?

MCHUGH: -- nine flights, 10 flights. It's not the birds I'm afraid of. But, you know, I know that that can happen now, so.

KING: The cockpit recordings, the passengers and crew listen together. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of all New Yorkers, I want to thank you for saving so many lives. I want to thank you for sparing our city and so many families from an awful tragedy. I want to thank you for renewing our faith in the strength of human spirit. You have reminded us why we can do anything if we put our minds to it. We can achieve the impossible.

(END VIDEO CLIP

KING: We're back. And we'll repeat something we did last night. Here again for this crew to listen to and the passengers, the final audio -- the audio transmission of the last few seconds of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 before it went into the Hudson. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SULLENBERGER: What's over to our right. Anything in New Jersey, maybe Teterboro?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Yes, off to your right side is Teterboro Airport.

Do you want to try to go to Teterboro?

SULLENBERGER: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teterboro, Empire -- actually LaGuardia Departure got an emergency inbound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cactus 1529 over the George Washington Bridge wants to go to your airport right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wants to go to our airport, check. Does he need assistance?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He -- it was a bird strike. Can I get him in for runway one?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Runway one, that's good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cactus 1529, turn right 2-8-0, you can land runway one at Teterboro.

SULLENBERGER: We can't do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Which runway would you like at Teterboro?

SULLENBERGER: We're going to be in the Hudson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Wow. It's kind of weird to hear that, isn't it?

MCHUGH: It is, the first time I heard that flight recording, it was difficult to listen to, because what I thought of was these five people are all human beings just like us. And they had to be thinking that this might be their last time too --

KING: Yes.

MCHUGH: -- just like we were. And they weren't going to see their families again, and yet they did their jobs, and nothing else, perfectly.

KING: All in it together. Barry, someone loaned you a pilot's shirt and then someone else thought you were one of the pilots?

LEONARD: That's right. That's right. It was the gentleman that was the US Air pilot. And he -- when I got back in the raft, he said, sir, you have to get out of those clothes or you're going to freeze to death.

So I took my shirt off. I took my undershirt off. So then the only thing I had left was my jeans. And I was freezing from being in the water for two or three minutes. And at that point, he took off his pilot's shirt and gave it to me.

KING: Wow.

LEONARD: Took the shirt off of his back and gave it to me.

KING: And then someone else thought you were a pilot?

LEONARD: When I got into the -- on the ferry, somebody came up and they said, thank you, thank you, thanks. And I'm like --

(LAUGHTER)

LEONARD: -- what do you mean, thank you?

(LAUGHTER)

LEONARD: And I told him. I said, I'm not the pilot. I'm not the pilot. The same thing in the E.R., and I just kept saying, I'm not one of the pilots.

KING: We will talk to our friends in Charlotte when we come back. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: Joining us now in Charlotte, North Carolina, three more survivors: Don Norton, he was in seat 11-F. In fact, he opened the exit door. Darren Beck was in seat 3-A, and Ben Bostic in seat 20-A.

Don, we've got the whole crew here. What would you like to say to them?

DON NORTON, U.S. AIRWAYS FLIGHT 1549 PASSENGER: Well, I'd like to say, you know, as I said when they were in Charlotte, you know, thank you so much for saving my life. I know you were just doing you job, but to keep calm and collected and doing what you did under those circumstances was just tremendous. Thank you for bringing me home to my wife and my little boy.

KING: Darren Beck, what would you like to say?

DARREN BECK, U.S. AIRWAYS FLIGHT 1549 PASSENGER: I love those guys. I just want to take them with me everywhere to keep me out of trouble.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: Well said. And, Ben Bostic?

BEN BOSTIC, U.S. AIRWAYS FLIGHT 1549 PASSENGER: I'd just like to say thanks to them as well. I just feel like I'm indebted to those five individuals and also all of the help we received from the New York Police Department, FDNY, everybody. Just can't say thanks enough. I just really appreciate it, from my friends and all of my family.

KING: Don, you were seated by the emergency exit. You opened the door after the landing. Tell us what that was like?

NORTON: Well, it was definitely interesting. I mean, I got up out of my seat. You know, I was thinking the whole way down that, you know, I've got to open this door. So I got up. I pulled down the door. I immediately pulled it off.

And then I really didn't know what to do with the door. So I kind of stepped out on onto the wing, threw it into the river, and then walked out on the wing to let the rest of the passengers come out.

KING: Whoa. And then where did you go?

NORTON: I streamed out further on the wing, as far as I can go, so I can let the rest of the people come out.

KING: And Darren, you were in the front by the window. You could see the engine mangled. Tell us what that was like.

BECK: Yes, I could. I was far enough up and on the window side so I could look -- actually look out and look back into the front of the engine. And after the plane shook I looked back there and you could see there were flames and the fan blades that are normally perfectly aligned were just mangled. And it was shocking. It definitely left a sickening feeling in your stomach.

KING: Did you know it was birds?

BECK: I did not, no. I mean, I'd like to say that thought flashed through my head, but it may have been just something I heard after the fact. I knew it was bad. I could tell that.

KING: Now, Ben, you were near one of the engines. I understood you expected a more traumatic landing. Is that true?

BOSTIC: Correct. I was sitting in seat 20-A and I could see the engine burning. And I just prepared myself for the worst. But I still held out hope that Sully would come back and give us words of reassurance at the time. And after a while, when he told us to brace for impact, that was when I think I didn't have much confidence I was going to make it through at that point.

KING: Don, has this changed the way you look at life at all?

NORTON: Yes, I think it definitely has. I mean, I try to appreciate every day now that I have to spend with my family and my friends and co-workers. I mean, I think you start to appreciate everything more. Try to get through the days and just get past this.

KING: Darren, you too?

BECK: Absolutely, definitely. I mean, it's amazing to me -- I knew Ben and Don from work, but even total strangers on the plane are like family now. I'd consider giving Beth a kidney if she needed one, because I love her that much now.

KING: Ben, the same with you?

BOSTIC: Same thing. I'm just honored to be associated with such fine, outstanding individuals. I mean, every passenger I came into contact with has been excellent, just like the crew. I can't say that enough.

I wish it was under different circumstances, but it's been great and really a lot of positives to take from it.

KING: We're honored to have you with us. Don Norton, Darren Beck, Ben Bostic.

If there are some unsung heroes, they might just be the rescuers on the water. Captain Sullenberger wants to thank them and he is going to have a chance after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: You went back through twice, right, to make sure no one was there?

SULLENBERGER: I had time. I could leave no chance that there would be anybody left behind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Joining us now, two of the rescue workers who helped pull over 30 passengers to safety. Captain Vincent Lucanti, New York Waterway Ferry. He helped rescue 24 people, including an infant and a child. His first time meeting the crew and passengers right now. And Petty Officer Second Class Ian Kennedy, U.S. Coast Guard, New York, one of the first responders on the scene, also pulled several people to safety. His first time meeting the crew since that day.

OK, Captain Lucanti. What's this like for you.

VINCENT LUCANTI, NEW YORK WATERWAY FERRY: Very exciting and the feeling is -- there is no words to explain it. I got the call. We untied the ferry, me and my co-worker. And we backed out of the work facility where we keep one of the ferries. And we were 600 yards away from the aircraft at that time. We were there within minutes.

KING: Didn't expect it that day?

LUCANTI: No. Absolutely not. No.

KING: Petty Officer Lucanti -- Petty Officer, rather, Kennedy, how does this feel for you?

PETTY OFFICER IAN KENNEDY, U.S. COAST GUARD: It was an amazing day. I heard the call come over Channel 16 and I started to make my way towards the Hudson River and saw -- actually I couldn't see the plane when I first got there, because it was surrounded by ferry boats. The response was great. And I made my way towards the starboard side. And seeing that U.S. Airways flight floating in the Hudson River was just unbelievable.

KING: And you started pulling people off the wing, right away?

LUCANTI: Yes. Instantly.

KING: It was cold, right.

LUCANTI: It was very cold.

KING: And what did you do immediately?

LUCANTI: When I showed up, I noticed right away that there was two ladies on the starboard side wing. And I just approached them as quick as possible and got them aboard my vessel. My crewmembers grabbed them. They did a great job, got them on board. And then we went around the tail end of the plane and I approached the port side, where we saw another 12 or so people on that wing.

KING: Did you have the child and the baby?

LUCANTI: Yes.

KING: What did you think happened?

LUCANTI: We had no idea. We just said we have to get these people out of the water.

KING: You had no idea the engines or birds --

LUCANTI: No. No idea. As a matter of fact, the starboard wing was already submerged, so we couldn't even see the engine at that point.

KING: Captain, what is this like for you?

SULLENBERGER: Wonderful. I've been waiting for three weeks to do just this, to say thank you, which of course is totally inadequate. That's all I can say is -- I got the passengers to surface, the flight attendants got them out, and you saved them.

KING: Jeffrey, what do you say to them?

SKILES: That's absolutely true. As I said earlier, I mean, we got them into the water, you got them out.

SULLENBERGER: Well put.

KING: And what do you guys say? What do you say, Jim Hanks?

HANKS: I think Jeff put it very well. We're all very grateful for the first responders, because with everything the crew did so successfully, it still might not have as good an outcome if the first responders hadn't been there so quickly and done such a great job. So thanks very much to all of you.

KING: You think a lot about that day, Ian?

KENNEDY: I do. I haven't stopped thinking about it. I don't know when it ever will end. I think about what I did; did I do the right thing? I think about the passengers, what they were thinking about on the way down.

KING: There is nothing you could have done wrong, they all lived. Couldn't have goofed.

You think about it a lot, Vince?

LUCANTI: Every day. Thinking about all the training that's put into this, it's for a reason. It pays off. We proved it and all the other ferry crewmembers.

KING: But you're not ferry-trained to get people off a plane.

LUCANTI: No, we've been asked that many times. But it's getting people out of the water. And it was the same situation, whether it was a sinking vessel, an aircraft. We're trained to remove them from the water. That's what we did.

Usually not 150 at a time, but we just put it all in play.

KING: Did you -- you didn't see the captain or anything, right?

KENNEDY: If I did, I wouldn't have noticed at that point. I was pretty focused.

KING: You were just working hard -- why do you think this stays with you, Ian?

KENNEDY: Just because it was so amazing. We do the training for things like this all the time, pulling people out of the water. And to have a case like this happen, where it was so successful with everyone living, I'll just never forget it. It was just an amazing day.

KING: We'll keep everybody here and back with our remaining moments right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back with our remaining moments? What does one say with an event like this, to host a show like this, around people who all have formed a bond together that they will never forget. So we'll call on anybody -- anybody have a final quick word? Sheila?

DAIL: I just think it was an example of just a real team effort, because we all had a common goal, to get off the airplane, to get out of the water. And I think just everyone who worked together I just think we all deserve a pat on the back because we all worked together.

KING: Doreen?

WALSH: Oh, the same thing. I think it was just a miracle like we're calling it. I mean, it was an amazing -- it brought a lot of people together. I mean, we all look at each other and we know what we've been through and it's amazing. I just want to thank everybody for -- there are no words.

KING: Donna, what's your two cents? It's your money.

DENT: It has been an incredible experience. I think I have a lot of lifelong -- not just friends but they're family now.

KING: Yeah. That's so true. Alberto?

PANERO: I think two things. One, to show to everybody that's seen this episode is that every day you have a gift and you need to use it accordingly. And number two is never underestimate the little things that you do in life and the training that you have, because when it comes down to it, that's what you're going to rely on.

KING: Also want to thank our three guys in Charlotte, Don Norton, Darren Beck and Ben Bostic and Barry Leonard. There's something you want to say?

LEONARD: Crew skill, God's will.

KING: Beth?

MCHUGH: Thank you to everyone who had a hand in making this a miracle. It was a miracle. Every day is a miracle now.

KING: And Jim?

HANKS: Well, I want to say thank you again not only for my wife and daughter but I think the crew saved not only 155 people but all their descendants and their descendants' descendants. So there are going to be a lot more than 155 people who lived because of your actions. Thanks so much.

KING: Ian?

KENNEDY: I'm thankful for seeing the training I was taught put into effect and it really works, and the fact that we got up there. And the ferries responded so well, FDNY, NYPD, we all worked so well together it just went very smoothly.

KING: Running quickly, Vincent?

LUCANTI: I'm just glad we were able to be part of the rescue and the training did pay off and we're happy to exist.

KING: Jeffrey?

SKILES: Well, clearly there were many, many people involved in this successful outcome. Maybe we all saved each other.

KING: We'll leave the last word to Sully.

SULLENBERGER: Something about this situation seems to have brought out the best in people the day it happened. It seems to have brought the best in people out since then also.

KING: Thank you all. Nice salute. Congratulations.

SULLENBERGER: Thank you.

KING: Safe flights.