Protectthehornet said:
quite frankly, I might have gone for interstate 80...but I wonder what the bridge toll would have been.
Actually, the outbound George Washington Bridge has no tolls, so he would have escaped the city without any additional charges.
But on the other hand, between the standard rush hour traffic on that route and the fact that there is hardly a straight line section of highway till you get out past Teteboro, any attempt to land there would have been a probable disaster. Although I am lowly SLF, I know the geography and terrain of the NYC area very well, having been both born and raised there and a resident for my 55+ years. He took the best option.
As far as luck goes, he was "lucky" in that
- It was a clear day
- There was no wind and the water was dead calm. (extremely rare in NY at that time of year)
- Although there was plenty of boat traffic in the river to effect a rescue, none were in his way.
But given all of luck elements, both pilots still had decisions to make and actions to take that were all dependent upon their skill levels and years of experience. Would a CRJ jockey on a regional airline fared as well.?? Maybe, but I sort of doubt it.