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Old 13th November 2009 | 11:43
  #1885 (permalink)  
RAT 5
 
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 4,507
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From: last time I looked I was still here.
I admire the way this event was handled. I respect the airmanship displayed by the crew. IMHO the hardest decision to make was to reject the extended glide option to a normal runway. That took great courage, and I'm sure Sully's experience weighed heavily in his favour. Would a 3000hr captain have had the same courage? The skill after that was for all to see.

I have no paticular affection for any particular airline, but I feel saddened that the courage and skill of the RYR captain at CIA has remained under the radar, both amongst ourselves and in the media. He had a split second to make a decision, realise that the a/c was under-powered, take control from PF and convert a G/A into a survival arrival on a shortish runway. Imagine if he'd delayed that decision a few seconds, and we might now be discussing why there is a large smoking hole in southern Rome, with 100's dead.
I take nothing away from Sully & crew, but why is it that this act of superb captaincy/piloting is so negelected. Compare it to the BA crew at LHR. They had no choice but to extend the glide. Hardly an einstein decision: Sully had many moments to consider the options and execute the plan: our colleague in CIA had the 'wink of an eye' to make a decision and execute it, and they all walked away from it. I don't know his name, but he deserves to be up there with them all.
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