Deep Survival: Hudson River Crash Remarkable in Aviation History

I first began to write about airline crashes in the early seventies. Ever since then, I’ve tried to learn about and write about both the joys of aviation and the business of avoiding airplane crashes–or else surviving them when they happen.

As I write this, the crash of US Airways Flight 1549 into New York City�s Hudson River happened just about three hours ago, and this is my first response to it. As a pilot and a journalist who writes about aviation, I know from long experience that it’s much too early to be weaving detailed explanations of what happened. No one knows yet. It takes time to gather the facts, interview those involved, and examine the wreckage.

The system of airlines works so well that it sometimes seems miraculous to me that we can move so many people around the world, day and night, and have so few accidents. It’s an extremely complex system, designed for safety as well as making money. And as a result, something as complex as the crash of an airliner takes a long time to unravel. Be patient. Don�t jump to conclusions.