Hudson miracle: passengers were rescued from US Airways Flight 1549 after an emergency landing in a New York river on January 15, 2009. Photo / AP
Hudson miracle: passengers were rescued from US Airways Flight 1549 after an emergency landing in a New York river on January 15, 2009. Photo / AP
Fifteen years ago this week Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger pulled off a stunning emergency landing in a New York river.
All 155 passengers and crew onboard US Airways Flight 1549 were safely evacuated in what came to be called the “Miracle on the Hudson”.
It was a remarkable event, made even more remarkable by the fact that there had been so few crash landings on US commercial airliners, let alone ones in which all on board survived. It was worthy of a Hollywood movie treatment, in which Tom Hanks played the stoic, heroic airline captain.
But should this lucky escape have resulted in more questions of the aviation industry as well as praise for the heroics?
After the past weeks, with further complaints about Boeing’s 737 Max planes and doors falling off mid-flight, 2009 seems a long time ago.
Earlier this month Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 suffered a dramatic incident with an emergency exit on the 737 Max 9 blowing open. While the plane was able to land safely, the near miss forced the FAA to ground the aircraft across the United States. The forced inspections affected 171 planes.
The aircraft type had only recently been returned to service after being grounded for three years, after issues with the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
The plane Sully flew was an A320, built by European manufacturers Airbus.
In an interview with USA Today the captain called his 2009 experience a “wake-up call for the industry.”
Miracle on the Hudson: Captain Sullenberger was concerned by his experiences of the 737 MAX aircraft. Photo / Getty Images
The Hudson River emergency turned the pilot into a campaigner for aviation safety and against complacency. Particularly in regards to the 737 Max issue and preventing near misses.
“We’ve had a number of wake-up calls in the industry recently. We have made commercial aviation ultra-safe. We’ve gone over a decade without a single crash [on a commercial passenger jet] in the US, something I would not have thought possible 30 or 40 years ago,” claimed the Captain.
Following the Alaska Airlines incident - and another involving fractured cockpit glass in the older Max 8 plane for Japanese carrier ANA - aviation experts are asking whether safety should be more rigorous.
Robert Clifford, senior partner for a law firm overseeing a civil case against the 737 manufacturer, says that the Alaska Airlines flight raises new questions for Boeing.
“This incident forces the aviation community, particularly government regulators, to determine if the Boeing Max 8 was allowed to fly again too hastily in Boeing’s efforts to get those planes back in the air,” he said.
A photo shared on twitter of the Alaska Airlines plane after a section of the window and side wall blew out. Photo / Twitter
The 737 which lost its door during Flight 1282, was just two months old. It was later determined by FAA investigators that the emergency door plug was not properly bolted.
“The public interest in safe travel requires a closer look at Boeing’s priorities and processes,” Clifford said.
Boeing said that it had appointed Admiral Kirkland Donald to lead an in-depth assessment of Boeing quality control at its commercial aircraft facilities.
Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun said that the ex-submariner would be heading an independent assessment of the factories used to build the 737 aircraft.
Captain Sully said that it was important that aerospace companies and plane manufacturers take a more “proactive approach” to safety, rather than waiting for the next dramatic near-miss.
“We’re decades past the time in aviation history when we could define safety solely as the absence of accidents.”
“We have to be looking for things that have been missed, bolts that might not have been tightened enough or whatever.”
Air New Zealand named world’s safest airline for 2024
The world’s safest airlines have been named for 2024, and the national carrier leads the pack for passenger peace of mind.
Air New Zealand was named world’s safest airline by the annual AirlineRatings list, taking the top spot from Qantas by the smallest of margins.
The website’s editor in chief Geoffrey Thomas said that although New Zealand’s flag carrier came out on top, the list of 25 safest airlines were all “standouts in the industry” for safety and innovation.
“Between Air New Zealand and Qantas, there are only 1.5 points, it’s incredibly close.”
Thomas said that Air New Zealand’s win was more remarkable given the prevailing weather patterns and range of airports the airline is based at.
“The airline operates in some of the most challenging weather environments which test pilot skills,” he said.
“Wellington is one of the most windy airports in the world, while Queenstown is a huge navigation challenge.”
The annual awards compiles a safety rating for each airline, taking into account factors including serious incidents, audits from civil aviation bodies, training and overall age of operating fleet.
While the Airline Ratings focus on safety, to give passengers peace of mine, they do not take into account factors that are out of the airline’s control. Bird strike incidents or diverts for weather are not included in the scores.
The 25 safest airlines for 2024
Air New Zealand
Qantas
Virgin Australia
Etihad Airways
Qatar Airways
Emirates
All Nippon Airways
Finnair
Cathay Pacific Airways
Alaska Airlines
SAS
Korean Air
Singapore Airlines
EVA Air
British Airways
Turkish Airlines
TAP Air Portugal
Lufthansa/Swiss Group
KLM
Japan Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines
American Airlines
Air France
Air Canada Group
United Airlines
This article was updated 17 January to correct the statement that there had not been a commercial jet service crash on US soil in a decade. This was true of when Captain Sullenberger made the comment, but not before the 2009 Hudson landing, as the article originally claimed.
