I was reading over at Talking Points Memo and Josh Marshall had posted a video that I haven't seen publicized elsewhere yet and I thought other Kossacks might find it as astounding as I did. Due to today's digital society and the population density in NYC, I kind of figured we might one day see video of the heroic touchdown; I didn't think it would come this soon.
Even in the well-deserved hoopla surrounding the pre-Inauguration, the story of Flight 1549 has already become an iconic American story crossing competence, ingenuity, and bravery. The actions and characters of the participants stand in stark contrast to the departing administration; instead they stoke the pride and hope that so many of us feel about our country's prospects for the future.
As I heard some talking head say earlier today regarding 'concerns' of the appearance of excess in the Inauguration festivities during a time of hardship: "We need a little Christmas." The story of Flight 1549 and the impending historic inauguration both give us a 'little Christmas' to help lift our spirits.
I doubt it is necessary for me to expound much on the backstory of this flight, but a few resources that contain interesting analysis worthy of hat tips are:
Kossack Shockwave posted Miracle on the Hudson, Sullenberger's synchronicity with good background on captain Chesley Sullenberger and the beneficial happenstance of him being the pilot of Flight 1549.
And if anyone hasn't read it yet, emptywheel's This Miracle Brought to You by America's Unions is a paean to the effectiveness of training programs and the expertise of these union members: the first ferry is heading toward the plane within two minutes of the plane coming to a halt.
Rachel Maddow did a piece on Friday night on When infrastructure works, which gives proper credit to the readiness of the flight crew and the first responders, but leaves out Marcy's crucial common bond shared by all these professionals: their union memberships.
The video apparently comes from a Coast Guard surveillance video on the New Jersey side of the river. Please note that Flight 1549 does not enter the shot until just after 2:00 in.
Here are the highlights for those who don't/can't watch (the times are how far into the video each event happens):
2:01 Flight 1549 enters the frame from the left, having first hit the water off-camera an unknown time beforehand. It can't have been too long though, because it is moving quite fast, but decelerating rapidly.
2:12ish Judging by the wake behind the plane, it appears to have come to a stop, floating downriver. The camera is quite far away, so activity on the plane is not visible until about...
2:40 As the camera zooms in on the plane, you can see that several people have already exited onto an inflatable slide on the front right of the plane and onto the right wing; within seconds it becomes clear that the same process is occuring on the plane's left side. This is 30 seconds(!!!) after deceleration and more than a dozen people are out of the aircraft; the crew as a whole is more than commendable.
3:05 Passengers begin to move to the tips of the wings to make room for more people to exit the plane.
3:12 The person who ventured furthest out on the right wing slips and falls into the Hudson. The next passenger rushes over and reaches in to help the poor soul out of the frigid water.
3:25 I first notice how low the rear of the plane is in the water. It appears that everything behind the wings is pretty completely submerged (although water probably had not infiltrated the cabin to that depth yet).
3:45 Just as I become aware of how quickly the current is moving the plane downstream...
3:52 The camera pans downriver to show a ferry on its way to the plane. The ferry is at about 44th Street (just south of the USS Intrepid) and moving. The plane seems to be at about 50th St--two piers north of the ferry.
4:08 It appears that a second slide is being inflated behind the right wing.
For the next couple minutes, the camera pans between the plane and the approaching ferry.
6:00 Four minutes after the plane touches down, it converges with the first ferry to arrive.
6:05 Sully was not the only amazing pilot that day. Watch how smoothly the ferry reverses direction to travel downriver alongside the plane (and to avoid crushing the inflatable slide behind the wing).
6:45 Another ferry enters the frame from the NJ side.
6:52 As the camera zooms back in, we see ropes being flung from the first ferry to the passengers. It's unclear whether any of the people on the deck of the boat have climbed up from the plane.
8:30 As the ferry from NJ approaches the tail of the plane, another previously unseen ferry comes from the north and arrives at the right wing of the plane. The whole flotilla is now about at the Intrepid (45th St.)
Although it's hard to see people actually going from the wings onto the ferry, it becomes clear that fewer people are on the wings.
10:00 video ends
The Miracle on the Hudson indeed.