Captain Sully and Crew on 60 Minutes Tonight.

[SIUav8er]

I guess its just one of the "perks" of being PIC that you get all the press when something like this happens. Im sure that the interview was highly edited so we didnt get to hear much of what Sully actually had to say about Skiles. Just my guess...

As for Couric to try and over dramatize the whole thing, did you guys expect anything less from the media?

Ultimately though, that whole crew was amazing and I really enjoyed watching the interview!

 

[WacoFan]

I like that idea!

Do you think we can get someone that knows him to get him to JC to look at a thread? I like the idea too - he needs some attention too. He is going through the same emotional stuff as Sully, but probably doesn't get the cards and letters.

 

[WacoFan]

Done - I created a new thread for everyone to post comments that will hopefully be read by Jeff Skiles, the FO on 1549. Maybe the mods can even make it a sticky?

 

[Clearblue]

In case anyone missed it. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4784194n

 

[frog_flyer]

I wanted to vomit when Katie spent 15 minutes probing the crybaby FA.

 

[v1valarob]

I guess its just one of the "perks" of being PIC that you get all the press when something like this happens. Im sure that the interview was highly edited so we didnt get to hear much of what Sully actually had to say about Skiles. Just my guess...

As for Couric to try and over dramatize the whole thing, did you guys expect anything less from the media?

Ultimately though, that whole crew was amazing and I really enjoyed watching the interview!

You could tell it was edited. They didnt have any questions asked and answers responded with the camera on both at the same time. It was camera shot of the questions, camera shot of the response.

 

[derg]

I don't know man, I certainly hope this doesn't set a bad precedent for the media expecting pilots to be available for interviews.

Maybe I'm old school, but there's no way in heck I'm going on television to be interviewed if I have the unfortunate circumstance of a high-profile incident.

People love to prop notables up and then hack 'em to death before they throw them away (Phelps, anyone?).

 

[SIUav8er]

what was the media reaction towards Al Haines? Thats the last "high profile" case of a flight crew saving lives in an emergency that I can think of...

 

[Hacker15e]

What was the JC reaction to Al Haynes' FO?

 

[SIUav8er]

What was the JC reaction to Al Haynes' FO?

He had an FO? I thought they used to be called gear and radio bitches!

 

[matt152]

Did anyone get the feeling that the questions may have been approved in advance? I'm sure someone at the airline wanted to know what the crew was going to say prior to going on TV.

 

[Acadia]

I wanted to vomit when Katie spent 15 minutes probing the crybaby FA.

I am exercising extreme self control by not posting my initial response to this sentence! Oh the imagery...

 

[Orange Anchor]

We need to do something for Skiles - god knows nobody else will. We should have a JC virtual meeting in some chatroom, or we should start a thread here to the effect that we appreciate his contribution as well - and then, when we have put up some pages of accolades, someone should direct him to the site. Just an idea.

Sully was measured and did what he had to do as far as the interview goes. You just know that he is preparing to hit the speaking circuit to rake in some dough, so he needed it to be about him - marketing. I don't begrudge him that at all - but we need to do something for Skiles. Skiles is a 23 year FO with USAir, with all their troubles. He will not be able to go on the speaking circuit, and he is not getting lots of mail about how he is the second coming. As far as the general public knows, he is basically invisible.

Skiles, if smart and I would believe he is, will get an agent or someone who knows the press/media and he too will have the opportunity to go on the speaking tour. He will have the opportunity to join many conferences and offer his perspective and while maybe not as lucrative as the venue that will be afforded Sullenberger, Skiles has the chance if he wants it.

 

[Orange Anchor]

I'm from PIT. Born, raised, and lived there the whole time I worked for Chautauqua and later US Airways.

I still thought she sounded a little drama-queeny. I agree though that the situation in the aft was probably significantly worse than it was up front. My guess is she cracked the door herself and then panicked when she couldn't shut it.

Noted. Any supporting evidence or reasons to suggest such?

 

[Orange Anchor]

Re: 1549 crew on 60 Minutes

Simply put, this guy is a captain's captain from what I can see. This is the kind of guy I'd want to fly with, and this is the kind of guy I'd want to mature into as a professional.

Wow... something we agree on Jtrain! I will have to buy you a beer on that one.

(FWIW from my contact with Sully, I might add you are on target)

 

[scramjet]

The whole crew did their job and saved lives. No need to hash apart a sensationalist media report. I can guarantee you that the way they are depicted on the screen is only a small fraction of their personality, if even that. Everyone survived to fly another day, the cause of the accident was determined, the crew discharged their duties in the finest aeronautical traditions of excellence, case closed IMHO.

 

[Orange Anchor]

I agree with everyone, all of the crew was fine except for the blonde. It doesn't matter if it's true, you don't come out on national TV as someone who is trying to make it seem like it has horrific and who thought she was lucky to be alive. .

So you think an unplanned ditching in water that can induce hypothermia in minutes is not horrific? She is injured, water is coming in and she is at the back of the airplane with 150 pax in front of her and the exits.

While horrific is not the word I would choose (causing horror), I would think it was a dire circumstance that a rational person would have some thoughts of perishing. I could be wrong...

 

[Orange Anchor]

Did anyone get the feeling that the questions may have been approved in advance? I'm sure someone at the airline wanted to know what the crew was going to say prior to going on TV.

Were I public relations, I would not try to manipulate the crew because if that got out any public good will would vanish. I don't have any doubts that the crew spent time thinking of possible responses to questions. That too is the sign of a professional.

 

[MQAAord]

Re: 1549 crew on 60 Minutes

When I was working as an alternate in Inflight management years ago, I went through Eagle's CISD (Critical Incidents Stress Debrief) class. It was a very enlightening experience and it talked a lot about how people react after having been through a "Critical Incident" (a ditching in the Hudson certainly qualifies as that). Every one of those crew members & pax WILL feel the effects of what they have been through. It will affect them all differently, but they will ALL be affected to some degree.

I did not see the segment, but I hear some of you ripping into "the blonde F/A"..... maybe she didn't say things as well as she could/should have, but she has been through a very traumatic experience, and is being interviewed about it to be televised nationally! Let's cut her a little slack. Again, I didn't see it myself, but let's keep in mind what they all have been through.


Personally, I would have a very hard time going on national TV to talk about an incident like that. As an AMR employee, anything we say, any interviews we would give HAD to have the approval of Corporate Communications and AMR Corporate before we would be allowed to utter a peep to anyone. I would be terrified of saying the wrong thing, so I would try hard to not say anything at all.... But that was the militant AMR mindset! Not sure how stuff like that would be there at Airways.

 

[moxiepilot]

So you think an unplanned ditching in water that can induce hypothermia in minutes is not horrific? She is injured, water is coming in and she is at the back of the airplane with 150 pax in front of her and the exits.

While horrific is not the word I would choose (causing horror), I would think it was a dire circumstance that a rational person would have some thoughts of perishing. I could be wrong...

While I agree it may be a terrifying incident, the FA allowed a passenger to open an exit door she was standing by because she couldn't control the passenger.

She also stated that she was pushing passengers out of the way and climbing over seats to get out.

Sounds to me like she forgot her job and went into self preservation mode. I'm sorry, but that's not cool.

When the plane I was in with a student caught fire, I instructed the student to exit and get another extingusher. I ran the checklist. I put the fire out with the extinguisher from the cockpit as the student was running to get another.

What I was doing was my job duties: protecting those onboard, then property, then myself.

Just because you're scared, doesn't preclude you from doing your job. Sully even said that.

$.02