Nigel, Nigel, Nigel
I never said the crew used the arc showing how far the plane would go. I did say the system should be revamped to always show the range of the glide/power off descent regardless of congifuration.
Of course the pilots looked out the window and judged their glide capability by the old fashioned method. (if one wished to learn what this method is, it has to do with the spot on the windshield going up or down...contact me for the name of a fine book with a full description)
Having flown out of LGA many times, I can assure you that it should not have been the first time any professional pilot at least considered putting her down in the hudson.
The greater question of how to do the same thing on instruments with very limited visiblity does come to mind. After all, there are other causes of dual engine failure than birds. And there are still jets out there without fancy moving map displays.
The phony CVR transcript is amusing in its own little way. If it were me flying, I would be heard to say...THIS AIRBUS IS A PIECE OF #$%^. AND SO ARE ALL ENGINES MADE BY GE. But this is just a personal opinion and doesn't reflect the views of pprune.