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Old 28th Jul 2011, 17:21
  #47 (permalink)  
kbrockman
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
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J.O. All this talk about ditching vs staying high to starve a fire is largely a waste of time. We're talking about putting a single layer of gauze bandages on a severed jugular vein.
Undoubtedly true however,

If you're going to have to choose between certain death and possibly almost certain death, than still the second option is the best.
There have been numerous crews and single pilots that ditched all around the world in WWII, a lot of them survived, even in the arctic ocean and without the possibility for immediat rescue like we have in present days.
there have even been pilots that survived jumping out of a burning plane over land, without a parachute.
There has never been a flightcrew that survived while staying in a burning plane so the choice is simple really (in hindsight !! ).

That's the whole dilemma; when to decide that something so drastic as ditching is better than try to keep on going, a split second decision that most people are not able to make quick enough.
That's where Sully excelled.
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