Originally Posted by
EGAC is Better
the fact there was a belief in the investigation team that the aircraft could have returned to LGA or made TEB, rather than ditch in the Hudson. If my memory serves, the pilots union representing the crew raised the issue with regard to thinking time required to make a decision. After that, low and behold the sims are re-run and they vindicated (in the circumstances) the crews decisions that the only safe place to go was the Hudson.
The fact is, that the NTSB must investigate ALL aspects of an incident, not just that what the public believes it should be. Until it was attempted in a simulator, the answer could very well have been that there was a viable option to return and if there were, then it would have been something to use for future training. It's not always about assigning blame. In this case it was clear that returning was not an option and that air crew's experience paid off.
Even if it would have been an option, it would have carried a lot of risk. Remember that there are people on the ground as well; failing to make the runway would also have caused harm below. That by itself should be sufficient reason to not have decided to go back, and ditch instead. I'm sure the NTSB would have evaluated the risks in the same manner and not have blamed the crew. The real NTSB that is, not the Hollywood version.