The OTHER HERO & PILOT: Jeff Skiles, US Airways

[Voice Of Reason]

http://gawker.com/5133340/why-we-should-leave-sully-alone

 

[Voice Of Reason]

Thought this was put well...

"
Now that the jubilation has settled down, I think it’s important to point something out.
No rational airline pilot wishes to be called a hero.
It’s true. If you are called that….name, it means that something very bad has happened. It means that you undoubtedly had something to do with the situation (even if you were the reason the situation turned out well).
It means you will be put under the microscope by the Feds, and the passenger’s attorneys, and whatever dimwitted reporter is staked out at the front of the terminal after the accident/incident (your company always prohibits you from talking to the press - It’s in the Employee Handbook! READ IT! NOW!!).
It means that you dare not pick up the phone when it rings once you get home (unless you have caller ID).
It means you are probably not going to be able to leave the house for awhile, and when you do, you’re going to have to replant that area out by the sidewalk, where said dimwitted press types have been holed up waiting to dry gulch you in an interview (that you have to hide from anyway).
You’re probably going to end up in civil court for the remainder of your natural life while the legion of passenger lowlifes are competing in the Great American Lottery (lawsuits).
If you get the aircraft safely to the gate (or otherwise), and if you get the last passenger safely off the aircraft (or otherwise), and if you’re able to walk off the plane (or otherwise), then you will have to run the press gauntlet at the front of the terminal.
I’ve known guys that have foreseen the impending inquisition, and changed into their civvies before walking out of the terminal, and then hidden in the parking lot until one of the other crewmembers could rent a van and sneak everyone off airport property.
There is no percentage for a line pilot in being called that….name. It’s not like the military, where you get to wear a nice medal (there’s no place to wear it anyway), or maybe get a promotion because of it (your seniority system limits that). You certainly won’t get raise or a bonus for it (your union contract limits that as well).
No, being called a hero is never a good thing for an airline pilot. If you make the mistake of doing so to his/her face we will smile, offer our embarrassed thanks, and rapidly scurry off since we’ve been recognized (never a good thing). If you are kind, just write a short note thanking us for saving your lives, and give it to a flight attendant (she’ll get it to us). We can read it when we’re alone. That’s a nice thing to do. A private expression of gratitude is always the best. We usually don’t have enough time alone, at home, as it is." --1/16/2009 by Commenter "Habib" on MichelleMalkin.com "

 

[Voice Of Reason]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/37719984.html

Great story about JEFF and photo at link

Co-pilot braved frigid waters to retrieve vests for passengers

Wisconsin woman, fiance were among those saved

By Stacy Forster of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Jan. 16, 2009
West Bend attorney Stephanie King and her fiancé, Andrew Gray, were in New York this week to celebrate her 29th birthday before going on to visit his parents in Fayetteville, N.C.
They didn't know the Big Apple could be so exciting.
As the US Airways jet bound for Charlotte, N.C., climbed into the air Thursday from New York's LaGuardia Airport, passengers aboard heard a bang before the engines of the plane suddenly went silent.
"Andrew was by a window seat, and it looked like we were losing altitude," King recounted. "Then the pilot told everyone to brace for impact."
King and Gray, a former U.S. Army captain who served two tours in Afghanistan, kissed, said, "I love you" to one another and began to pray.
"We were praying out loud," King said. "I thought we were going down into the city, into the buildings."
All 155 passengers on the US Airways Airbus A320 were rescued after the plane hit a flock of birds following takeoff from LaGuardia, lost power and had to land in the Hudson River. The plane was co-piloted by another Wisconsinite, Jeffrey Skiles of Oregon, south of Madison.
When Gray and King realized they'd landed on the river, King said late Friday, her fiancé told her to remove her seat belt. Within minutes, the two were on the right wing of the aircraft, waiting for an approaching ferry.
"We were soaking wet," King said. "I was trying to keep my balance because it was very slippery.
"Everything seemed like slow motion, but it probably lasted only a minute or two," King said of the time passengers heard the bang and the plane landed in the water. After the plane hit the water, she said, "there was no panic, but everybody was concerned about getting off the plane because we smelled the fire," adding that water was beginning to seep into the fuselage.
Interviewed by phone during a train ride to complete their trip to Fayetteville, King said she and Gray would love to invite the pilot to their wedding.
"We thank God for giving us that pilot and equipping him with skills and quick thinking," she said.
"We give thanks to both God and the pilot."
Co-pilot helped passengers

Earlier Friday, Barbara Skiles of the Dane County Village of Oregon described the experience of her husband, Jeffrey, the plane's co-pilot.
The water in the Hudson River was so cold that Jeffrey Skiles' legs were immediately numb, Barbara Skiles said.
Skiles said her husband, 49, walked through the plane to find more life vests for people who had exited without them. The quick response from New York City's police and fire departments, as well as ferries and other boats that helped bring passengers to safety, was a key reason no one was killed, she said.
"He did say that it was amazing the help that they got&ensp.&ensp.&ensp.&ensphow quickly boats were at the side of the airplane," she said.
Skiles said her husband lost his cell phone in the incident, but used a borrowed phone to call her with news about the accident.
" 'We had to ditch the plane in the Hudson, I want you to know I'm OK and I think we got everybody off OK,' " she said he told her. She said she's spoken with him a couple more times from his hotel room, but isn't sure when he'll be home.
"I think it's still sinking in," she said of how he's feeling. "He just really doesn't know how things are going to happen from here."
Jeffrey Skiles got his private pilot's license when he was a teenager and has been flying professionally since his early 20s, spending the past 23 years flying for US Airways, Barbara Skiles said.
He is a 1984 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison who majored in geology and geophysics.
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents is inviting Jeffrey and Barbara Skiles, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, to its next meeting Feb. 5 and 6, said university system spokesman David Giroux.
"It's always nice to see UW graduates do well and serve so admirably under intense pressure," Giroux said.
Barbara Skiles and the couple's three children, ages 17, 15 and 12, spent Thursday evening watching TV coverage for more news about the incident, and were hoping media attention dies down soon so they can get back to their normal lives.
"We're so grateful," she said, fighting back tears. "Not just for Jeff but for everybody on the plane."
She said she's always worried more about her husband driving to airports in Chicago and Milwaukee than flying.
"If you're going to be in an airplane disaster, you couldn't ask for a better ending," she said.
Erica Perez of the Journal Sentinel staff in Milwaukee contributed to this report. Stacy Forster reported from Oregon; Jesse Garza from Milwaukee.

Find this article at:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/37719984.html

 

[Voice Of Reason]

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/37719984.html
Barbara Skiles and the couple's three children, ages 17, 15 and 12, spent Thursday evening watching TV coverage for more news about the incident, and were hoping media attention dies down soon so they can get back to their normal lives.
"We're so grateful," she said, fighting back tears. "Not just for Jeff but for everybody on the plane."
She said she's always worried more about her husband driving to airports in Chicago and Milwaukee than flying.

In stark contrast, Sully's family:

"The captain's wife says a trip to D.C. might happen.
He received a congratulatory phone call from President-elect Obama on Friday night. Now, a trip to D.C. could be "in the works" for Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and family, says the heroic pilot's wife.
"Our [two] daughters would love to go see the Jonas Brothers" who perform Monday at an inaugural ball, Sullenberger's wife Lorrie told CBS News correspondent Priya David on "The Early Show," Saturday edition. "So we're thinking about [going to D.C.]. I would love to go. It's in the works, I believe."
During their five-minute phone conversation Friday evening, Obama thanked Sullenberger and his crew for ensuring that all 155 people aboard the plane survived the crash into the Hudson River, Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs tells the Associated Press.
There might be another honor in store for the hero pilot yet: NY Gov. David Paterson says an anonymous individual has offered to donate $10,000 to have a statue of Sullenberger erected, reports the New York Post."
Posted January 17, 2009 11:31:00 AM

 

[instructordude]

I heard he was invited to stand next to Obama in the Inaguaration Ceremony.

 

[Bringupthebird]

Oh, yeah by the way this happened too


Incident: Interjet A320 at Guadalajara on Jan 16th 2009, bird strike

By Simon Hradecky, created Saturday, Jan 17th 2009 15:53Z, last updated Saturday, Jan 17th 2009 15:53Z

An Interjet Airbus A320-200, flight 4O-809 from Guadalajara to San Jose Cabo (Mexico) with 106 passengers, struck a vulture with its left engine while departing from Guadalajara forcing the crew to shut the engine down and return to Guadalajara. The airplane landed safely about 20 minutes after liftoff.

A replacement aircraft took the passengers to San Jose Cabo several hours later.

Passengers reported, that the airplane shook after the bird was ingested and the smell of burned feathers developed in the cabin.


​

 

[denny]

You're going down too when he blows it, but you don't always have a lot of horsepower to keep 'em from blowing it.

PIPE

You state a very important principle of the crew concept. While the captain retains ultimate authority the first officer is shouldered with ensuring that the captain exercises his authority or not considering the situation. As the first officer you have every obligation, authority and responsibility to keep the captain from screwing up including taking control of the aircraft on the ground or in the air.

 

[relief tube]

APC shows US narrow-body FOs topping out at 85 per hour, and the CA at 125. It's criminal what the greedy CEOs and lawyers have done to this profession. .

You really think its them, and not the $149 fares JFk-FLL and ATL-LAS? Hope those at those airlines use this as a reason to ask for more.

 

[SLUF4]

Just read a usatoday article and the NTSB says the "ditching switch" was not pushed because it was at the end of a 3 page double engine failure checklist. But it floated pretty nicely anyway. Amazing job by everyone and i too am disappointed that the media has hardly given any credit to the FO and FA's.

 

[Sedona16]

If this wasnt already mentioned the first officer did the takeoff and was flying up through the double engine failure....then "Sully" said "my plane"......

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/nyregion/18plane.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

 

[Voice Of Reason]

another NYT article

January 17, 2009
After Splash, Nerves, Heroics and Comedy

By MICHAEL WILSON and RUSS BUETTNER
Some passengers screamed, others tucked their heads between their knees, and several prayed over and over, “Lord, forgive me for my sins.” But a man named Josh who was sitting in the exit row did exactly what everyone is supposed to but few ever do: He pulled out the safety card and read the instructions on how to open the exit door.
US Airways Flight 1549 smacked the Hudson River the way a speedboat lands after jumping over a wake — with a thud that rattled teeth and nerves and stunned the cabin silent. It was as if everyone was waiting for someone else to shout in pain, and no one did.
Then Josh stood up. “Someone tried to pull the door in,” another passenger recalled, “and he said, ‘No, you’ve got to throw it out.’ He twisted it and threw it out.’ ”
Thus began some of the most harrowing minutes of what Gov. David A. Paterson described as the Miracle on the Hudson.
It was a perfect landing and a perfect ending: Everyone survived. But from the moment the plane hit the water to the moment the last person reached dry land, scores of human dramas unfolded.
Friendships were struck on a frigid wing. Chivalrous heroes emerged beside selfish elbow-thrusters in what one survivor described as an “orderly mess” and another called “controlled panic.” There was tension, cooperation and even pure comedy, as more than a dozen passengers recounted in interviews on the day after in New York, Charlotte, N.C., and beyond.
There was the woman in the fur coat who asked a stranger to go back inside the slowly sinking plane to fetch her purse. The man who carried his garment bag onto the wing with him. The mother who had to climb over seats holding her 9-month-old son to avoid a stampede, and the man who eventually helped them to safety. An older woman who walked with great difficulty, and a young one who tenderly kissed her fiancé before the landing.
And the prayers: from simple pleas to the heavens to the Lord’s Prayer, only halfway completed when the jet began to swim.
The flight, which left La Guardia Airport late after a gate change, was packed with a diverse cross-section: 23 frequent-flying Bank of America executives returning home after meetings in New York; a band of buddies on a golf trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.; a 74-year-old man who had just attended his brother’s funeral; a family trying to visit a grandmother before her surgery. And, in Seat 13F, Emma Sophina, 26, a pop singer from Australia, who was working on a song, titled “Bittersweet,” forever linked in her mind now to a day that was anything but.
Martin Sosa, 48, who lives in the West Village and was traveling with his wife and two young children, recalled thinking, “O.K., so you survived the impact, now you are going to drown.” He added, “The plane is slowly sinking and there’s no movement to the outside.”
Inside, as if heeding one collective thought, everyone moved to the rear of the cabin, only to find the exit doors there locked tight and water rising as the tail dipped below the surface.
“If that door opened, everything would go under,” said Brad Wentzell, 31, a patio-door salesman from Charlotte, the flight’s destination. The crowd turned and began moving up the aisle all at once.
“Everybody’s blocking everybody off and there’s a woman and a child,” Mr. Wentzell said. “She’s screaming that people were blocking them off.”
The woman was Mr. Sosa’s wife, Tess, who was carrying their 9-month-old son, Damian. Mr. Sosa was with their 4-year-old, Sofia. “People were just saying, ‘Move, move, move!’ ” he recalled. “Some people were actually gracious enough to let me go by with a child and kind of move my way up.”
But his wife was having a more difficult time, and finally began trying to crawl over the backs of seats. “She didn’t want to get crushed by the stampede,” her husband said. Another passenger heard someone cry, “Get the baby out!”
Mr. Wentzell, the door salesman, moved to help. “I kind of bear-hugged them and picked them up and said, ‘You’re coming with me,’ and carried them to the front to the exit,” he said. He passed them off to a stranger standing at the door, who helped them onto a wing.
But the life raft attached to the plane was upside down in the river, just out of reach. Mr. Wentzell turned and found another passenger, Carl Bazarian, an investment banker from Florida who, at 62, was twice his age. Mr. Wentzell grabbed the wrist of Mr. Bazarian, who grabbed a third man who held onto the plane. Mr. Wentzell then leaned out to flip the raft.
“Carl was Iron Man that day,” Mr. Wentzell said. “We got the raft stabilized and we got on.” A man went into the water, and the door salesman and the banker hauled him aboard. He curled in a fetal position, freezing.
On another wing, Craig Black, a 46-year-old auditor, stood at the tip and thought of the Titanic, as in, he said, “There wouldn’t have been enough rafts for everyone.”
Don Norton, 35, one of three passengers who work at LendingTree.com, a Charlotte-based financial services company, had opened one of the other emergency exits. Then he had to figure out what to do with the hatch, finally tossing it into the river.
He was the first to step onto the slippery wing, and struggled to maintain his balance in his black Aldo dress shoes as he made room for those behind. About 20 or 30 people had joined him when he realized that in his rush to remove the door, he had forgotten to grab a seat cushion — how many hundreds of times had he heard that announcement? At that moment, “the woman next to me handed me my seat cushion,” he recalled. “She had hers and handed me mine. We bonded.”
He needed it, too, because the New York Waterway ferry stopped about three feet from the wing’s edge, so he had to jump in and swim. The cushion kept his head dry. Lucille Palmer, 85, grabbed for her pocketbook. Her daughter, Diane Higgins, 58, told her to leave it.
Dick Richardson, 57, a frequent flier, had, upon takeoff, done his ritual count of the rows between his seat and the nearest exit (eight) before closing his eyes to try to go to sleep. On impact, he moved his BlackBerry from his belt clip to the inside pocket of his blue-gray tweed blazer.
Debbie Ramsey, 48, of Knoxville, Tenn., said she hesitated a minute over leaving her Eddie Bauer down jacket, and her carry-on bag containing the chocolates she had bought for her 2-year-old grandson, but grabbed her seat cushion instead.
Dave Sanderson, 47, a salesman for Oracle, said he saw a woman in her 60s pulling her luggage out of the overhead bin. “I just started screaming, ‘Get out, get out!’ She said, ‘I need my stuff,’ ” Mr. Sanderson said. “Another gentleman who did a great job — he’s a hero — actually picked her up and threw her on the lifeboat.” Her luggage was floating in the river.
David Sontag, who had just buried his brother in New York, recalled a man in the doorway, demanding the passengers count off as they passed; now he believes it was the hero-pilot himself, Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III.
Nick Gamache, 32, a software salesman, had moments earlier sent his wife a text message that read, “Planes on fire love you and the kids,” so he was naturally in a hurry to update her. But he paused as the pilot told him to carefully step into the raft.
On the wing, Laurie Crane, 58, watched the water rise to her waist. “I’m like, ‘I’m not supposed to drown,’ ” she said. “ ‘This isn’t the way I’m going to go. Keep fighting.’ So I did.”
...




Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

 

[Voice Of Reason]

(DOUBLE post appeared)

 

[Voice Of Reason]

continued from above post

...
The Sosa family made their way slowly onto the right wing. “We were being very cautious because we didn’t want to lose hold of our children, and many people were trying to grab our children away from us,” Mr. Sosa said. Indeed, Mr. Sanderson — who said that since 9/11 he says a silent prayer every time he boards a flight — recalled Mrs. Sosa “standing there screaming.”
“The ladies on the lifeboat said, ‘Give us the baby, give us the baby, throw us the baby,’ ” Mr. Sanderson said. “And she wouldn’t do it.” Eventually, he said, “the other guy who was on the wing and myself sort of grabbed her and heaved.”
There was no room on the overcrowded raft for Mr. Sosa. “It was kind of first come first served,” he said. “I have to say, some things could have been done a little differently to get my wife and kids on board first.” Mr. Sosa ended up chest-deep in the frigid water, and was soon unable to feel his legs — his fingers stayed numb through Friday — but the children were fine, and joined their parents on the “Today” show on Friday morning.
“My daughter said, ‘Daddy, the plane turned into a boat,’ ” Mr. Sosa recalled.
The rescue boats streamed toward the jet from all directions. A police helicopter hovered just above the river, and divers dropped down.
Aboard one of the ferries that helped in the rescue, Captain Sullenberger took a metal clipboard with the manifest up to the wheelhouse, and used the emergency-services radio network to get a count from all the other vessels: Everyone was alive.
Billy Campbell, 49, a television executive, had watched water seeping through seams in the plane’s windows and, seeing the clogged aisles, started climbing over the seats instead. His waterlogged shoes gave him little traction, so he would put a knee on a seat, fall and keep moving. He reached the exit on the right wing, but it was blocked. The exit on the left was clear, but the wing was full of people.
The pilot and the flight attendants had beckoned Mr. Campbell to the front, and he ended up on the same raft as the pilot.
“I said, ‘Thank you,’ and held his arm,” Mr. Campbell recalled, “and he said, ‘You’re welcome.’ ”
Maryann Bruce, 48, of Cornelius, N.C., said that while others were “thinking of dying, I was actually thinking about living. I wanted to see my kids and my husband.”
Ms. Bruce said she had survived disasters before, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, where she worked then. “I must have nine lives,” she said. “I was vacationing in Honolulu and had to be evacuated for a tsunami. I was skiing in Denver and had an avalanche. I flew into the eye of a hurricane. I was at the big L.A. earthquake.”
At a downtown hotel where survivors waited to meet with airline representatives, one passenger ordered a martini. Before long, nine of the passengers were exchanging stories, and wine was poured, and someone decided he had seen enough of New York City for one day, thank you. The group returned to La Guardia, where they boarded US Airways Flight 2591 to Charlotte, which took off just before 10 p.m.
“They applauded us,” said Mr. Wentzell, the door salesman. “We had some wine and we thought about just how great it was to be alive.”

Copyright 2009 NYT co.

 

[XJTAv8r]

For those of you on Facebook

The F/O now has his own Facebook support page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=57297242864&ref=mf

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Just read a usatoday article and the NTSB says the "ditching switch" was not pushed because it was at the end of a 3 page double engine failure checklist. But it floated pretty nicely anyway. Amazing job by everyone and i too am disappointed that the media has hardly given any credit to the FO and FA's.

It took me about 15sec in a calm environment to find the ditching checklist... I started at the QRC, then emer, then irregular....

The checklist is about three pages as stated above and assumes the aircraft is at cruise altitude....

Perhaps there needs to be a ditching QRC checklist for scenarios were departures are near water....

Or how about incorporating the Ditching switch in the evac checklist....

just ramblin'

 

[Bringupthebird]

It took me about 15sec in a calm environment to find the ditching checklist... I started at the QRC, then emer, then irregular....

The checklist is about three pages as stated above and assumes the aircraft is at cruise altitude....

Perhaps there needs to be a ditching QRC checklist for scenarios were departures are near water....

Or how about incorporating the Ditching switch in the evac checklist....

just ramblin'

I don't think you want to do that. Any residual cabin pressure could cause the emergency exit to either be more difficult to open (overwing) or blow open with excessive force and perhaps drag out whomever might be holding the door handle too long.

Also, the Ditching button closes things that in flight, flaps down, in the cold, should either be closed already or mostly so. Most of the time it is used to override the signal from the landing gear squat switches (during deicing, etc.). In this case I doubt it really mattered whether or not the ditching PB was pushed or not, except for some leakage though the outflow valve.

 

[av8trinabarrel]

In stark contrast, Sully's family:

"The captain's wife says a trip to D.C. might happen.
He received a congratulatory phone call from President-elect Obama on Friday night. Now, a trip to D.C. could be "in the works" for Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and family, says the heroic pilot's wife.
"Our [two] daughters would love to go see the Jonas Brothers" who perform Monday at an inaugural ball, Sullenberger's wife Lorrie told CBS News correspondent Priya David on "The Early Show," Saturday edition. "So we're thinking about [going to D.C.]. I would love to go. It's in the works, I believe."
During their five-minute phone conversation Friday evening, Obama thanked Sullenberger and his crew for ensuring that all 155 people aboard the plane survived the crash into the Hudson River, Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs tells the Associated Press.
There might be another honor in store for the hero pilot yet: NY Gov. David Paterson says an anonymous individual has offered to donate $10,000 to have a statue of Sullenberger erected, reports the New York Post."
Posted January 17, 2009 11:31:00 AM

You are such a frickn idiot...Its truly pathetic how you get so much enjoyement pitting one side against the other. The ENTIRE crew did a phenomenal job. If it makes you feel better, the AP is reporting this morning that Sully took the controls AFTER the bird strike. Now in your twisted mind, he is probably the a-hole now for exercising his captain authority.

Why don't you and your buddy 19 crawl back under the rock you slithered out from under.

 

[trip]

Nice job was done by all, no need to get your panties in a wad because the First Officer has not been given the same amount of press as the Captain. He probably is feeling fortunate he was not the captain this time. Their is a chain of command and the buck stops with the captain, whether good or bad. Get over it.

 

[Benjamin Dover]

So, now that more details are coming out, are you "shut the wrong one down" speculators sticking to that idea? I am pretty amazed about people in our business that this theory got so much traction rather than maybe believe both engines did in fact quit. I was commuting yesterday next to another airline pilot - capt somewhere - who "heard" they hit the birds at 400 feet then climbed all the way up to 3200' so he was convinced "Sully" gooned it and shut down a good engine.

Then last a night a FAA maint. inspector who is a coworker of a neighbor "heard" through his sources that only one engine died and they shut down the wrong one.

So, what's the story now from you guys? Even though radar hit on birds at 2900 feet right where pilots said they hit birds and right away said lost both engines and turning back to LGA, both pilots are now lying to NTSB?

I guess I just don't read enough NTSB reports since I believe it happened just the way they said it happened. Nice job by all five crew also.

BD

 

[Amish RakeFight]

K.Higgins NTSB Conference...

CA = ~3800 hrs in the 320 (19K TT)

FO = ~35 hrs. in the 320 (20K TT)