Results tagged “flight1549”

Port Authority officials continue to fight off the terror threat posed by Canada geese, employing techniques from falconry to to shotguns to killing their eggs. With Captain Sully being given a hero's welcome back to the skies as he returned to work this week, it seemed time that we better check in on the villain that was disposed of, lest they come back bigger and stronger than ever. Officials from the PA say they are doing just that, not losing any momentum after over 1,000 were "rounded up" this summer.

With Miracle on the Hudson pilot Captain Chesley Sullenberger back in the air, of course there's some grumbling. The Post suggests, "Wimpy US Airways bosses feared... Sullenberger might not be able to hack the media glare of what they billed as his 'return to the air' yesterday," so they had him fly three other flights for prep. A US Airways spokesman explained, "We didn't want to put too much pressure on the guy." Of course, the Post probably has sour grapes since the Daily News was included on one of the earlier flights.

     

Captain Chesley Sullenberger arrived in NYC this morning and declared, "It feels good to be back in New York. It feels good to be back at work." Even jaded folks at the news conference, held at Laguardia, clapped for Sullenberger as well as his co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles, who were scheduled to make another flight from NYC to Charlotte, NC—just one with a less dramatic ending than Flight 1549.

With all the hubbub about Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger making his long-awaited return to the skies after his miraculous splash landing of Flight 1549 by flying from Laguardia to Charlotte, North Carolina this afternoon, it turns out that Sully had to get to NYC some how. And that was by flying Flight 1050 from Charlotte to LGA at 7:55 a.m! The Daily News had a reporter and photographer onboard for the scoop.

Get ready for the Sully media blitz! The US Airways pilot who landed Flight 1549 into the Hudson River safely will be in New York tomorrow: TMZ reports that Chesley Sullenberger's first flight back in the cockpit "will take off from LaGuardia Airport tomorrow and take the same route that would have landed him in Charlotte, North Carolina ... were if it not for those pesky geese." And his co-pilot will be the same as that January 15th flight—Jeffrey Skiles. And we say media blitz because Sully's book comes out on October 13.

Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who captured the hearts of many when he safely landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, says that he's ready to fly planes once again. He said yesterday, in a statement from US Airways, "The months since January 15 have been very full, and my family and I have had some unforgettable experiences. However, I have missed working with my colleagues at US Airways and I am eager to get back in the cockpit with my fellow pilots in the months ahead. In my new role, I will continue to be the same kind of advocate for aviation safety that I have been for several decades."

The Post, which basically called war on Canada geese after Flight 1549, continues to cover the geese culling/killing, reporting that 300 geese have been killed on Monday and Tuesday: "Death squads targeting Canada geese before they bring down any more commercial jets launched an amphibious assault on Fort Totten Park in Queens -- where they used an armada of kayaks to herd the flying menaces to the shore. Workers from the US Department of Agriculture and city Parks Department then rounded up gaggles of the pesky honkers, put them in crates and drove them on a flatbed truck to a secret location at Kennedy Airport. Officials wouldn't say if they were gassed there or transported to another location to meet their doom." And there are pictures, too. The city and Port Authority are trying to eliminate at least 2,000 geese from the area, in hopes of improving airline safety. Protesters gathered outside the PA's offices in Manhattan; one said, "This is a terrible precedent to set, that anytime there is a problem with wildlife — to just slaughter them is not a way to solve the issue."

According to the NY Post, Operation Kill At Least 2,000 NYC Geese is well underway: "Nearly 100 Canada geese were killed yesterday...Agents from the US Department of Agriculture hit four city parks and will continue rounding up the geese this week, said Allen Gosser the department's assistant state director." How did the USDA agents do it? They brought the geese "into a corralled area" and put them in "wooden crates," later gassing them with carbon dioxide. The city and Port Authority are trying to cull/kill geese in order to improve airline safety, since Flight 1549 was brought down when geese flew into the Airbus 320's engines. However, some critics of the plan say some humane measures, like scaring them with fireworks or changing the landscaping, might also be effective. Yes, what about the Geese Police, those cute border collies who help rid areas of geese?

The Humane Society of the United States has weighed in on New York City's—and the Port Authority's—plan to cull/kill/gas 2,000 geese. The city perceives the geese as a threat to airline safety, given that geese took down US Airways Flight 1549 (Mayor Bloomberg reiterated on his radio show, "We're trying to strike a balance. In the safety of flying, the public trumps the rights of the geese"), but the Humane Society says, "The best and most lasting solution to secure the safety of air travelers as well as preserve wildlife is to reduce the attractiveness of airport-vicinity open space to animals such as waterfowl and to limit access to other creatures."

Mayor Bloomberg expressed further support for the city and Port Authority's joint plan to kill 2,000 geese during their molting season in order to prevent accidents like the one that left Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. On his radio show yesterday, Bloomberg said, "There are people who care very much about the geese. But in the end, safety of the public is No. 1. There is not a lot of cost involved in rounding up a couple thousand geese and letting them go to sleep with nice dreams. We're trying to strike a balance. In the safety of flying, the public trumps the rights of the geese...(This way is) less stressful way of eliminating geese. They actually use carbon dioxide, and they just sort of go to sleep." Geese in various city parks within five miles of local airports will begin getting rounded into portable pens where they're killed with cabon dioxide-filled chambers on Monday. Wayne Johnson, a "free-land activist," told the Post, "There's a ton of nonlethal alternatives," such as chemical repellents and goose-frightening pyrotechnics.

In other Flight 1549 news, the city and Port Authority are embarking on a plan to kill at least 2,000 pesky Canada geese living within 5 miles of airports. Mayor Bloomberg said, "The serious dangers that Canada geese pose to aviation became all too clear when geese struck US Airways Flight 1549. The incident served as a catalyst to strengthen our efforts in removing geese from - and discouraging them from nesting on - city property near our runways."

Sure, little Damien Sosa was on the cover of People with Flight 1549 Captain Chesley Sullenberger—but his mom and 4-year-old sister are supposed to pay for their own therapy after the scary though miraculous flight. At least that's what U.S. Airways' insurer, AIG, tells the Sosa family, according to the NY Times. While the family has health insurance, Tess Sosa thinks AIG should help foot the bill, "It’s like telling me, ‘We aren’t responsible for this. This is your trauma. You deal with it.'" And when Sosa mentioned the taxpayer bailout, the AIG claims person said "their division didn’t get a cent from the bailout." AIG has offered others passengers $10,000 if they release them further liability. Airline insurance expert Bruce Chadbourne isn't surprised AIG is playing "hardball" but adds, "Even though they’re giving the passengers a hard time, eventually they will be compensated to some extent. There’s no big pot because there’s no death. But there’s still mental distress, and it is a compensatable illness which, eventually, in my opinion, they deserve. They went through hell."

After Flight 1549 splash landed into the Hudson River in January—and with everyone surviving—one of the flight attendants, Doreen Welsh, said that a panicked passenger had pushed past her and opened up the rear door, sending water into the cabin. However, a few passengers have told the National Transportation Safety Board that Welsh was actually the one who opened the rear door.

Today, the Federal Aviation administration will release data on bird strikes, reversing its earlier position that it would keep the information secret. The demand for the bird strike data grew after US Airways Flight 1549 splash-landed into the Hudson earlier this year—birds had hit the plane's engines. The FAA claimed that the data might give people negative perceptions about certain airports or airlines, but lawmakers and the National Transportation Safety Board criticized the attempt at secrecy, pointing out indepedent researchers could help examine the data and provide comparisons. At any rate, bird strikes do happen and they are hard to prevent, though there are programs to limit the populations of birds (specifically Canada geese) at airports. The FAA's new bird strike data website will be here.

Jeffrey Skiles, who was co-pilot to Captain Chesley Sullenberger on Flight 1549, flew his first plane yesterday since the January splash landing in the Hudson. A Daily News reporter was on the Charlotte, NC-to-Detroit flight; Skiles said, "It felt really good. It all came right back to me. I'm a pilot; this is what my whole life is about." He also revealed that he spent a few days in a simulator (to prepare) last week and added, "Actually, it was my wife who said to me, 'When are you going back to work?' She got tired of looking at me." The filght's captain said Skiles' return flight was "flawless" in spite of gusting 30-mph winds. In other Flight 1549 news, one of the flight's survivors testified at an FAA hearing that bird strike data should be made public, "The issue needs to be addressed openly, not swept under the rug."

While Miracle on the Hudson hero Captain Chesley Sullenberger hasn't been flying planes since splash landing US Airways Flight 1549 into the river back in January, he has been working on his media strategy. Last month, it was announced he was writing two books for HarperCollins' William Morrow imprint. The deal is reportedly worth $3.2 million and one book will be based on "the important lessons that helped him become the man and pilot he is today, including his boyhood, his military service, and the fateful emergency landing" (planned for later this year) and the other's subject is to be determined. Now TLC says it has interviewed Sully for a one-hour documentary—titled "Brace for Impact"—which will air sometime before next January. Till then, you can sate your Sully addiction by watching his and the Flight 1549 crew's 60 Minutes interview again.

When US Airways Flight 1549 crash- (or splash-) landed in the Hudson River on January 15, the first boats to arrive and offer help were NY Waterway ferries, which ultimately took 142 of the 155 passengers and crew from the cold water. Now, the ferry company says it may go bankrupt by the end of the year. And, Crain's reports, "Its situation is so precarious that the company is preparing a lawsuit against US Airways to recoup the expenses it incurred during the rescue effort."

The Flight 1549 crew received a standing ovation before they testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The crew members, Captain Chesley B Sullenberger III, First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles, flight attendant Sheila Dail, flight attendant Donna Dent, flight attendant Doreen Welsh, appeared before the committee alongside LaGuardia air traffic controller Patrick Harten, who gave his first statement about the flight that eventually splash-landed into the Hudson River with everyonen surviving.

New York's Sully fever shows no signs of breaking; or at least businesses show no sign of giving up trying to cash in on pilot Chesley Sullenberger's life-saving emergency landing in the Hudson River last month. Village pub the Half Pint is in the papers this morning because of their new cocktail, "The Sully," which consists of two shots of Grey Goose vodka and "a splash of water." Carla Iny of Brooklyn tells the Post, "It's a classy drink for a classy man. It's cool and smooth—like Sully." It's only a matter of time before all this adulation goes to Sully's head and he ends up living in Malibu hosting his own reality show like Pimp My Plane or something. Oh well, at least Sully fans now have have something to get wasted on while partying in their "Sully is my copilot" t-shirt.

After the Smithsonian's analysis of feathers and organic material left in the engines of US Airways Flight 1549, the National Transportation Safety Board said a flock of Canada geese did hit the plane on January 15. With its engines compromised, the Airbus A320 was then forced to land in the Hudson River, with all passengers and crew surviving. However, the NY Times reports it's unclear whether the birds were migratory birds or more native ones from the NY area: "Those that migrate typically weigh from 6 pounds to nearly 11 pounds, the safety board said, but nonmigrating geese are fatter and 'can exceed published records.' Either kind is too much for the engines to handle, however." The NY Post, which basically called war on Canada geese, seems pleased with the identification.

Though the Miracle on the Hudson was about a month ago, it's still the month of Sully! Pilot Chesley Sullenberger, whose 60 Minutes interview with other Flight 1549 crew members started off the week, is on the cover of People magazine (on newsstands tomorrow) with the youngest passenger of the flight, 10-month-old Damien Sosa.

      

The brave crew of U.S. Airways Flight 1549, which splash landed into the Hudson on January 15, was honored by Mayor Bloomberg this morning. The mayor said:

"New York is a city full of heroes: police officers, firefighters, emergency workers and everyday citizens who show their own brand of courage each day," said Mayor Bloomberg. "That’s why I think New Yorkers have felt such a strong connection to the story of Flight 1549, not just because it happened right here at our doorstep, but because the ‘Fearless Five’ - who managed to save every single passenger on that flight - lived up to an ideal that all of us in New York aspire to and many have often reached."

Last night, 60 Minutes aired interviews with Flight 1549's pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, as well as the Flight 1549 crew—Sullenberger with co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles and flight attendants Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Doreen Welsh. Sullenberger said, "It was a normal climb out in every regard," then "Birds, filling the entire windscreen, from top to bottom, left to right, large birds, close, too close to avoid." He soon smelled the burned bird and then engines failed, "It was obvious to me from the moment that we lost the thrust that this was a critical situation. Losing thrust on both engines, at a low speed, at a low altitude, over one of the most densely populated areas on the planet. Yes, I knew it was a very challenging situation."

When U.S. Airways Flight 1549 splashed landed in the Hudson last month, officials from NYC to D.C. thought it might be terrorism. According to a lengthy NY Times article, officials emergency response systems created in the wake of September 11, 2001. Former Senator Bob Kerrey, who was on the 9/11 Commission, said of the 9/11 attacks, "The airlines knew what was going on, but the Federal Aviation Administration didn’t. Then, the F.A.A. knew, and the White House didn’t. Then, nobody on the local level knew that there were planes, hijacked, on a collision course with the Eastern Seaboard.” Of the "Miracle on the Hudson," the Times writes, "There were oddities, luck and examples of teamwork. Some things seemed to work well. Certainly Flight 1549 revealed the networks of communications that have built up since 9/11. But the implications of the early judgment that the crash was a freak accident might well garner significant scrutiny," since officials believed the "bird strike" cause early on.

     

At last night's performance of the Tony-winning revival of South Pacific, audience members—and cast and crew— got a special treat: A glimpse of US Airways Flight 1549 pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who was attending the Lincoln Center production with his wife and two daughters. Sullenberger returned to NYC for the first time since his amazing landing of the Airbus A320 in the Hudson last month—with all passengers and crew surviving. During the curtain call, the show's star Kelli O'Hara said, "It could have been tragic, but it wasn't. It became a miracle. We've never been more honored than to perform for you, Captain."

Everyone is still amazed at how the crew of US Airways Flight 1549 managed to act so calmly when the plane splash landed into the Hudson River on January 15. Which is why Katie Couric's interview with pilot Chesley Sullenberg, co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles, and flight attendants Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Doreen Welsh on 60 Minutes this Sunday is a much-anticipated opportunity to hear what was going through their minds.

Local TV nerds likely have their TiVos set to record NBC at 9:30 tonight on both tuners to make sure they don't miss the debut of Man Men's Jon Hamm in his guest role as Liz Lemon's new love interest on 30 Rock. Last night Hamm was promoting his gig on Conan and revealed that he and Tina Fey were shooting one of their scenes when she spotted Flight 1549 flying low on its descent towards the Hudson two weeks ago. Conan wondered if Hamm's good looks could have been the culprit! Captain Sully and Don Draper? Hubba hubba.

Get ready to heart Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger even more; the air traffic control tower recording from Flight 1549's dramatic "splash landing" in the Hudson has surfaced. And it's pretty riveting; the man is a remarkable paragon of calmness in the midst of extreme crisis. Sure, Sully doesn't talk much on the recording—he's kinda busy—but as soon as we heard him say, "Unable. We may end up in the Hudson" we knew we'd found our new ring tone.

The National Transportation Safety Board released a photograph of a feather that was found in the left engine of US Airways Flight 1549, the plane which landed in the Hudson River somewhat miraculously without any deaths or major injuries. The plane's pilots had both said the Airbus A320 hit birds, suggesting the dual engine failure was due to a bird strike.

While US Airways Flight 1549 pilot Chesley Sullenberger and the crew will be speaking at length on 60 Minutes next Sunday, the admired pilot did speak briefly to ESPN's Rick Reilly during the Super Bowl festivities. Reilly wrote: "I had to ask him, What was that like when you realized both engines were out? He thought about it for awhile and then said, slowly and deliberately, 'Shocking. It was very quiet as we worked, my co-pilot and I. We were a team. But to have zero thrust coming out of those engines was shocking - the silence.' How were you feeling inside? I asked. 'Calm on the outside, turmoil inside.' He kept calling the whole thing 'surreal.'" Sullenberger also said he and his wife had been opening letters every night, "It allows both of us to express emotion about it all. We both sit there and cry."