US Airways plane landed in Hudson River is piloted by USAFA Grad

Well hey! "USAFA appointee loses a tire on landing" haha. Yesterday i was flying with an instructor (but not my primary) and doing my first night flying. it wasn't in the same plane that i'm used to, a bit older, but still a Cessna 172. We started around 4:30, flew around to a couple of airports before the sun went down, then flew over to my local airport. By this time it was definitely night, so full lights, etc.. set up for the landing nice, but took my downwind a little long. No worries, i was high in the VASI by the time i was on final, but with full flaps I started slowing quick, altitude going down about 500 ft/min. i landed in the 1st 200 ft of the runway a bit hard in the back of the powercurve, and then applied some brake. my right wheel was wobbling, and bad, we slowed to about 30 kts and started spinning on the runway because the tire had come off the rim. shoot, we called the FBO, and they sent an emergency vehicle out (No help) we tried pushing it but it just kept turning right. so we sent the E-Vehicle out to get a dolly or something to but under the tire. then we saw a plane coming in, the opposite direction we landed, and he was HIGH and fast, meaning he would have landed ON US. we turned the strobes on and got on the radio to call him off
 
(sorry) he got to 100 AGL right above us and went for a go around. he ended up landing on the other end with plenty of room to spare, we got a terrrible dolly under the tire and pulled the plane to the taxiway. and closed that taxiway off. A great night, might I say! the best part: i got to ride in the fire truck back to the FBO!
 
man that pilot's legit, he saved everybody. and he was from usafa? well i guess that shows that usafa produces the best pilots:biggrin:
 
texan101 said:
man that pilot's legit, he saved everybody. and he was from usafa? well i guess that shows that usafa produces the best pilots:biggrin:
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Before it happens, no one answer this goad! PLEASE, for the sake of this thread, DO NOT!!! We've had plenty of threads hijacked for AF vs ROTC vs OTS vs Navy for pilot. We will leave it as a friendly goad! OK? :biggrin:
 
The experience & training of the pilot were a true blessing to the 150 people aboard that flight today. Thankful for these guys.
 
I'm type rated in the Airbus 320. Wait until the rest of the story comes out. What he did was even tougher than it sounds. And then he walked through the plane twice (while it was sinking) to make sure he left nobody behind. I'm thinking a lot of people are happy it was a Grad up front.
Hope the kids reading this get an inkling of what it means to be on the Varsity team, or why the SA's are so tough...
 
from alll the maps i've seen of it's path, he kept it up long as he could. maybe he learned how to fly gliders here :)

hahaha nah i dont think they had that way back then. but the stuff you learn here may come in handy some day
 
Wow, I can't believe this happened. My dad is a commercial pilot and said that water landings never have full survival rates. This is amazing that the pilot was able to save everybody, and it makes me appreciate everything we will have to endure at the Academy that much more....
 
Imagine If You Will...

Hi boys and girls... Lets do a thought experiment. If you had your choice, would you rather land your Airbus on:
1. Fresh water at 32.01 degrees
2. Fresh water at 80 degrees
3. Salt water at 32.01 degrees
4. Salt water at 80 degrees
5. Tide detergent barge spill

If he had any choice in the matter our pilot could have only chosen more or less salty water ( heading towards the ocean ). What would you have done?
One of the experts said it was good that this happened in January, why? :rolleyes:
 
If i had my choice, I wouldn't land an Airbus, it would be a Boeing :smile:
 
My guess is that the cold weather helped with his altitude at time of crisis. Am I right? Huh? I'm going to go ask my son.
 
13ryan13 said:
Wow, I can't believe this happened. My dad is a commercial pilot and said that water landings never have full survival rates. This is amazing that the pilot was able to save everybody, and it makes me appreciate everything we will have to endure at the Academy that much more....
Click to expand...

amen man... damn i just cant wait to go to usafa (God willing i get accepted)
 
Cant beat an old F-4 driver for seat of the pants flying, even in a giant computer. It was and amazing thing and it is good to know there are still pilots out there.
 
So many things went right

  • Grayhair in the cockpit (never underestimate experience)
  • He's a glider pilot in his spare time, so he understood glide characteristics
  • A320 has a ditch switch that automatically closes all the external valve openings to keep water out (and plane afloat)
  • Cold water
  • Near very popular tour-boat/ferry-boat pier to ensure better rescue chance
 
Chemistry! :) yay! Water is the most dense at 39 degrees (and still significantly denser at 32 than at 70 or 80). Therefore, the buoyancy of the plane is more positive in the water than if the water was warmer. Thus, the plane could float longer than if it was in warm water. Salt water would be preferable since it is even more dense than fresh water. However, an ocean landing would probably be worse since waves and chop would cause more problems and probably end up sinking the plane faster.

USNA, that is also true, colder air is more dense than hot air, meaning the plane could glide a LITTLE bit further than if it had been a 95 degree humid day.
 
Navy is always bragging about landing on a postage stamp in the middle of a ocean.

I guess Air Force is good enough to land under a bridge in the middle of a river.

Doolittle would of been proud.
 
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