Terrific post Kingbird - heartfelt and well-written.
Talking about writing, have I spotted the first use of a new phrase to describe this ditching? Today's Daily Telegraph web page in the UK has an article on this accident that describes the US Air ditching as a "splash-landing". Has anyone seen this excellent description before?
The article can be found at
New York plane crash Airbus lifted from Hudson River by salvage teams - Telegraph