Thursday, January 15, 2009

When it's your time, it's your time.......

.....and you're not going to go one second before He's ready for you to go! The passengers on this plane sure could have lost their lives today.

"New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an experienced pilot, said it appeared the pilot did "a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure everybody got out." And Gov. David Patterson pronounced it "a miracle on the Hudson."

I'll say....look at that picture again! Those people even walked on...................well, never mind!

That pilot and the rescue people are such heroes. Hooray for a good news story in a world of bad news.

z

24 comments:

namaste said...

amazing! my daughter called me to tell me about this earlier. she's been working in NYC for her xmas break. thank god everyone got out okay. yes yes! the pilot and rescuers are real heroes. god bless them!

christian soldier said...

The pilot-AFA grad-fighter pilot USAF- and on and on---Walked the plane twice to make sure all passengers were out-I want one of our Best of the Best to fly any plane I'm on :-)

Karen Townsend said...

My husband - USAF veteran - was not surprised at all that this excellent pilot was a former fighter pilot.

It was truly an amazing event. I'd like him as my pilot the next time I fly!

Tom said...

Absolutely incredible story!

shoprat said...

That is what we are really about.

sue said...

z - that's the first thing I thought - walking on water - when I saw them on the wing.

What a shock that must have been for those poor people.

(Check that comment you made on my blog. I have a question.)

cube said...

I hate to fly. Actually, it's not the flying part that I hate, but the possiblity of crashing. This is one of the most benign crashes I've ever seen. I still hate to fly ;-)

Anonymous said...

Thank God for the first responders. What an amazing story!

Anonymous said...

Heaven only knows why two engines were suddenly disabled by a passing flock of GEESE one minute after takeoff. Just goes to show that anything can happen anywhere anytime.


That plane was only in the air THREE MINUTES before it was forced to crash land.


The pilot and flight crew are to be praised to the skies (no pun intended), but even better are New York City's incredibly well-prepared, totally dedicated team of First Responders who were on the scene within two to three MINUTES.


BRAVO! BRAVISSIMO!


It's amazing that no one was killed. I understand, however, that SEVENTY-EIGHT have been injured, and that ALL hit their heads on the ceiling as the plane hit the water with tremendous force.


A miracle that the pilot was so level-headed as to avoid crashing into the city streets. Can you imagine the horror had he done that?


Frankly, I think the greatest miracle of all is how PEOPLE seem almost ALWAYS to be at their BEST when a crisis hits --- the most notable exception being the Welfare Queens of New Orleans, their blundering Mayor Ray Nagin and that paragon of fine governance Kathleen Blanco, then-Governess of Louisiana.


Of course New York is my home town. I am so very glad this terrible occasion has given me cause once again to be proud of New York --- The New York Times, Columbia University, NYU and Mayor Bloomberg notwithstanding.


The rank and file there may seem gruff to outsiders, but they are incredibly savvy and for the most part have hearts of gold.


Thank GOD that everyone escaped with their lives intact. We should all pray for the speedy recovery of those who were injured.


QUESTION: How in Heaven's Name did they all get OFF a plane that was half submerged in 40º water and apparently sinking fast --- in 10º weather yet?


God --- and Man --- be praised!


~ FreeThinke

Z said...

Shoprat's right..THIS IS what we're about....America (if I take you right, Shoprat!?)

WHAT a rescue, what a pilot...what a group of people; all helping each other.

Z said...

BY THE WAY:

WHERE IS PETA?

You think they'll be asking for NO MORE AIRPLANES IN THE SKY because BIRDS ARE BEING KILLED?

I was just wondering!

:-)

Beverly said...

What a story! Wonderful.

Only you would think of PETA, Z.

Z said...

Beverly, it's a sickness!! :-)

Z said...

Tom? Am I nuts or do you have a no-comment blog now? Am I missing something!? Thanks for coming by...

Brooke said...

The pilot was a Air Force veteran and a very seasoned commercial pilot.

I guess experience DOES matter... 145 days behind the stick and this could've ended much differently...

WomanHonorThyself said...

yes I almost had to go to the scene Z..but thank God everyone was alright!!!

sue said...

cube - I generally don't worry about crashing when I fly but am uneasy about takeoffs, landings and sudden movement while in the air. I don't mind flying but I have a trip the the last week of February and am a little uneasy about the weather - like ice on the wings.

Plane crashes in the water like the one today - especially in cold water - are upsetting to me. Do you remember when the plane crashed into a bridge in Washington D.C. in January of 1982 and 78 people were killed. The wings had not be properly de-iced. A few became heroes from that.

Z said...

A friend of mine's about 50 now and I believe his Dad was killed in a plane crash in water...I thought it was the Hudson River, but I could be wrong. He was killed before Dave was born. Horrible story......

Sue..flight attendants will tell you the ascent and descent are the times there could be trouble....I'm always relieved to have got past that period!!

Anonymous said...

Such a happy ending to what could have been so terrible. It's a wonderful story.

Amazing!

Pris

Ducky's here said...

Nice piece of flying.

Z said...

The survivors on FOX all mentioned that everyone was praying on the plane.........
Yahoo's article this morning has managed to get tons of quotes and anecdotes about the experience but somehow no praying was mentioned.
I think that's sad.

The word "MIRACLE" has been removed from the lexicon on this event, too. And the experts yesterday were calling it just that.

How quickly we forget.

Anonymous said...

My own Air Force veteran husband said about the same as others here have stated, that this is good work and not out of the realm for a former Air Force Pilot.

Gee, and the guy is older, too.

Experience and maturity is a good thing.

WVDOTTR

Z said...

Bloomberg just made a speech to the heroes of this near tragedy...who already got certificates just now..that was fast.

Bloomberg then made his speech in SPANISH? WHAT? "For those of you who don't understand English.."

The only GOOD thing is that more Hispanics will learn English just not to have to hear him speak Spanish again. MAN, is his accent DEPLORABLE! Not even an effort to speak it correctly! WOW! WHAT an accent!! HAA!!

Tom said...

Z - Click on the number below the date to leave a comment on the blog. It's a new template that I'm trying out, but people are getting confused on how to leave comments. The search continues...unless I break down and code one myself (I'll have lots of time in a while...)

By the way, don't give PETA any ideas. Look how Global Warming took off...