Sully

They looked like they were standing on a sandbar. But it was the wing of a plane, specifically US Airways Flight 1549, bobbing in the Hudson River yesterday afternoon. There must have been a tremendous feeling of panic on that wing, but in the photo taken from a distance, the passengers looked as if they were calmly waiting for the next bus. In this case, though, they were waiting for the next boat. The next rescue boat.

So. One moment they're looking outside the window as their plane takes off, and the next - literally, almost the very next - they're standing outside on the wings with their legs submerged in the freezing Hudson River. What was going through their minds then, besides fear... and utter disbelief? 

Back up a bit - what went through their minds when the pilot said, "Brace yourselves - we're going down." Which is exactly what Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III said yesterday. Thank God he warned them, but how horrifying to hear those words. The time lapse was probably seconds between that announcement and the impact. Was that long enough to have their lives flash before them? To say a full Hail Mary? To give them the presence of mind to turn their cell phones back on, like at least one passenger did, so the phone's GPS could lead people to his body later on? 

And what about those traveling with children? They're told to brace themselves, but how do they do that and comfort their children at the same time? When I fly alone, I worry about leaving my kids without a mommy if we crash. When I fly with my kids, I worry about keeping all seven calm if we suddenly make a terrifying drop to earth. Or making sure they are all "bracing" themselves properly for crash landings that are survivable, like yesterday's. But only survivable if they are following the safety rules. My heart went out to all those parents on board yesterday - those traveling with kids, and those with kids waiting for them back at home.

Only once was my fear almost realized. We were flying back from Chicago last summer, changing planes in Vegas. Two seconds from touching down at Vegas Airport, our plane suddenly rose back up into the sky. And kept going. Waited a solid three minutes for an explanation. No passenger spoke, maybe bracing to hear if we had been hijacked. The pilot finally spoke as he turned the plane back towards the lights of Vegas, saying, "Sorry about that, folks - we had to abort our landing at the last minute due to another plane not clearing the runway quickly enough."

What you might call "a near miss." Shudder.

The good news - our Vegas pilot kept his head about him. He rose back up into the sky in such a calm, fluid manner, as if we had not just missed crashing into another plane. So my fear was thankfully realized in hindsight. Captain Sully from yesterday had that same attitude, assessing the situation in a blink of an eye, realizing he could either crash land into the city, or set the belly of the plane onto the Hudson River. He chose wisely, and his actions saved 155 lives. His, and rescuers made up of ferry captains, ferry passengers, police officers, firemen. Everyone helped. Everyone wanted to help, whether it was their job or not. Love that.

And love Captain Sully. As I'm sure does every passenger on Flight 1549.