Friday, January 16, 2009

RADAR of the Plane's trajectory yesterday........from Mr. Z

Mr. Z sends me this link from Der Spiegel. It's the radar record from the US AIRWAYS flight that went down in the Hudson yesterday.
He says some of you who are interested (and ghoulish, I might add) can figure out how to watch the radar screen as the plane flies over the city and then see it suddenly disappear off screen. I was enthused about linking it till he had me watch it then I thought better of it because it gives me the creeps, frankly, but here I am doing it for those of you who are interested.

Here's Mr. Z's info : These are screen shots from “Airport Monitor 2.0”. In the first picture; clicking in the text on the reddened “Airport Monitor 2.0” will bring the airport monitor for La Guardia up. Putting in the date (1/15) and the time (15 hours 26 minutes) and then clicking on appropriate buttons will bring up a continuous flight path of the plane until it disappears from the radar screen.

He says you have to 'wiggle around with it a bit' and it will ultimately appear. (it won't for me, but if you're really interested, maybe you can figure it out.) I watched wondering "What was that poor pilot thinking as he crossed the bridge and went over water......?" He probably didn't have much time to think; that's why we need great pilots with so much experience they do what's right by rote.

God bless Sully.

z (thanks, Mr. Z)

10 comments:

I.H.S. said...

I'm sure it was a harrowing experience for all on board. I thank God they came away from that and also for the fact my cousin who is a flight attendant for US Airways and was on the plane that took off right after the one that went down. Talk about bring it close to home.

Thanks Mr.Z but I won't be looking at it.


Blessings.

Rita Loca said...

We lost friends in a plane crash in the jungle. For a very long time, we could hear the emergency locater signal on our radio when we flew nearby. Very mournful and sad sound.

CJ said...

I think it's fascinating, thank you Mr. Z. It's too schematic to be emotional for me and besides it makes a difference that it all turned out well. You can see it take off from LaGuardia going north and then it starts to lose altitude, which you can see on the chart on the right of the screen, then it makes a sharp turn to the west which becomes a U turn and follows the Hudson River south losing altitude all the way, before it disappears from the screen at about 500 feet.

Brooke said...

Thank goodness a pilot with so much experience, military and otherwise, was at the helm!

Anonymous said...

That pilot was an old F4 Pilot.

"oh, there are no fighter pilots down in hell."

"No, there are no fighter pilots down in hell"

"Hell's reserved for queers, navigators, bombardiers, but there are no fighter pilots down in hell."

Z said...

I.H.S....I'm so so glad your cousin wasn't on that, too! WOW.
yike.

JM....I can't imagine anything more mournful, I'm so so sorry. How haunting.

CJ...I thought I'd feel the same way but I felt almost voyeuristic in an add way as I watched.

Brooke and Hermit....thank goodness for fighter pilots. Any neophyte pilot probably wouldn't have made it. Is it true this pilot, Sully, also teaches gliding? THAT is what that plane apparently turned into...a glider with 150 aboard.

Kris said...

my dad is a private pilot...pilots are a different breed.

i must say that is was a miracle.

kw

Chuck said...

He appears to be an amazing man

Incognito said...

It truly was a miracle on the hudson as someone penned it. Just proves the whole 'if it's not your time to go' theory.

I wonder how this experience will change their lives?

Z said...

I've been wondering the same thing, Incognito.
One young man said he felt God was right there with him...that he'd never feel afraid of anything again.
I loved that.