Nevertheless, halfway through the piece, I began to wonder if Sullenberger had said too much. “The first few nights [after the accident] were the worst,” he told us. “When the what-ifs started.”
This made me - and presumably everyone else sitting at home - think, what if what?
“Do you regret anything that you did?” asked Couric, also clearly intrigued.
“No,” Sullenberger replied. “Not now.”
Not now?
She didn't push him any farther. But now I can't stop thinking: what exactly does he think he didn't do right, given that he successfully landed an aircraft with no functioning engines on the Hudson River, with all 155 passengers surviving? Did he forget to activate some kind of built-in goose cannon? Did he throw down birdseed before taking off? Sadly, hundreds of lawyers across America will no doubt be thinking exactly the same thing.
The only thing he could have, or should have, done is to tell the the crew and passengers that he was planning on ditching the aircraft on the water. Even 1 minute notice could have been enough time for most to don their life jackets. It is very lucky that no one drown after slipping off the wing into the freezing water.
That being said, I doubt I would have thought of it, or had the time to do it either. (20/20 hindsight)