Finally, A Hero

In a time when most of the news is bad, and in this story when the news could have easily been very bad, we have a hero, a man who lived up to every definition of the word.

People say what the pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, did was a miracle. Perhaps so, but one glance at his resume will show that it was less of a miracle, but more sheer competence and skill, made possible by many years of experience. He is a graduate of the Air Force Academy,with two master's degrees attained later, who flew F-4 fighter planes from 1973 to 1980. In 1980, he took his present job with US Airways. He is also an expert in airline safety, involved with several organization devoted to airline safety. There could not have been a more qualified pilot to handle the emergency landing of this plane.

It's interesting to note that at 57, Sullenberger would have soon faced mandatory retirement at 60, had the rule not be moved up to 65. It was believed that such pilots were "too old" to continue flying. However, the passengers owe their lives to his long years of experience and this story might not have had such a happy ending with a young pilot with far less experience.

I'm sure I join most people when I say that I would confidently board any plane that Captain Sullenberger would be piloting.

He is the hero of the day, but there were other heroes as well: the rescuers, both professional and amateur, who quickly and competently responded to this disaster. This was the second important role in ensuring that all 155 people on board survived, by limiting the time that the passengers were exposed to the frigid water. NYC should be rightly proud of its Public Safety employees and also the concerned citizens who pitched in to make the rescue a success.

Finally, some good news for a change .