ceebeegee | Proud to Be a Pilot's Daughter

I am all over this Miracle Landing on the Hudson River like a duck on a junebug. It's such a great story! My dad is (was, now retired) an airline pilot and Bart and I grew up as part of the Delta family, very aware and proud that our father was a pilot. And when I was a kid, that was a BIG deal--anything to do with the airlines was glamorous and exciting. At my first elementary school, Nova* in Plantation, Florida, my dad always spoke at Career Day and ALL the teachers and students made a fuss over him. Of course I loved it. Bart and I "hated" Eastern (we considered it Delta's arch-rival) and used to boo whenever we saw an Eastern jet in the sky. (God, we were such. Dorks!) We had all the kiddie goodies they used to give out to young fliers--coloring books, cards, stickers, tee-shirts, model jets...My and Bart's old furniture at my Mom's STILL has those old stickers on it. Fly Delta's Big Jets, Delta is Ready When You Are...

Whenever we flew, it was space available, which almost always meant first class. This was even better when flying cross-continentally--Delta used to have something called "Royal Service" to First Class passengers on longer trips. I rarely took trips that long but the few times I got to experience Royal Service, it was amazing. Champagne, lobster, hot fudge sundaes...The crew was always extra-nice to Bart and me, and if my dad happened to be piloting the plane, he would make a special announcement that his children were on board.

Bart and I were always aware, perhaps hyper-aware, of airplane accidents (this was the era of the disaster movie, including Airport '75 ("There's no one left to fly the plane!"--I know that line and I've never even seen the movie) et al.)--but we were never worried about them. I remember being worried about natural disasters, like earthquakes and tornados, and monsters (I refused to go with my parents to Hong Kong, I was afraid King Kong lived there) but I was never afraid to fly.

So I've always appreciated flight crews, especially pilots and flight attendants (stewardesses back then). The scene in the movie Air Force One where the pilots are killed is extremely upsetting for me to watch. Similarly one of the aspects of 9/11 that hit me the hardest was imagining the people on the planes--the FAs and pilots who were the first to die for our country.

So this incident has been fascinating to watch unfold, especially with the comparisons to Air Florida Flight 90 (which I remember VERY well as I grew up in and around DC. An absolutely horrifying, horrifying accident--SO many people died). Both involved planes going down immediately after takeoff; both planes landed in frigid water. In fact they took place only two days apart. This could have been so much worse.

I've been reading about the pilot, Captain Sullenberger. He is such a rock star! I love it! He's all "Brace for impact" as cool as a cucumber, and after the passengers evacuated he walked up and down the aisle a couple of times to make sure everyone was out. And his awesome crew (co-pilot, FAs) backed him up of course, and helped execute his emergency landing. I'm so proud of all of them! True American heroes!

This is sweet (from a passenger on the Weehawken ferry, which swung around to help out the survivors):

“We were holding people, hugging them, reassuring them, holding their hands, warming them with our body heat,” he said.

And I like this:

Don’t forget the stewards too. That plane sunk in a few minutes and they got everyone out. Next time you (or me) get miffed about paying $199 for flying NY to LA think about that crew. It wasn’t a miracle. You saw skills out there. That’s why pilots get the big bucks and why the crew deserves to be paid fairly too. They ain’t waiters and waitresses…

And another:

Kudos not just to the pilot, who did an amazing job, but to all the flight attendants who handled the evacuation. Folks, those people aren’t just flying waitresses - remember that the next time you feel like taking out your travel frustrations on them.

and this:

The training these pilots receive prepares them for experiences such as this. Trust me! It’s intense with A LOT of reading and at least three different ways they’re tested to ensure they know those planes inside and out. It’s not your typical one week paid training but rather TWO MONTHS!

It's true. Dad used to go down to Atlanta for loooong stretches for training.

And isn't this an amazing picture?