The Cause-And-Effect Argument on USAir Flight 1549

Introduction

The US Airways flight 1549 took off from La Guardia Airport in New York on January 15, 2009, for a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina. In not more than 20 minutes, the plane landed on Hudson River. The plane had !55 people on board, 150 passengers and five crew members including pilot Chesley Sullenberger and co-pilot Jeff Skiles. Three minutes after take-off, the plane lost power in the two engines after striking a flock of geese. Air controllers attempted to direct the US Airways plane back to LaGuardia airport or New Jersey. However, the pilot-in-charge of the plane decided that he could not safely land in both airports and hence gave instructions to the passengers to "brace for impact" and landed the plane on Hudson River (Mcdermott, 2009). As water entered the drifting plane, the passengers walked out through the plane's doors to stand on its wings that were partially submerged. Some passengers chose to swim away from the plane in a panic that the plane would explode- the temperatures read twenty-one degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as possible, rescue teams from the New York Waterways assembled at the scene to assist in rescuing the passengers. There were no casualties in the accident. All passengers in the plane and crew members were rescued and rushed to nearby hospitals in New Jersey and Manhattan for treatment. Only a few of them succumbed to serious injuries (Ripley, 50).

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The US Airways 1549 jetliner encountered a flock of geese which caused the engines of the plane to fail because they were damaged when the plane stroke the birds. Due to this engine failure, the pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, made a quick decision to land the plane in the Hudson River. Air controllers had directed him to return to LaGuardia airport, but on turning and realizing the plane was parallel to the Hudson River, he realized he could not make it back to LaGuardia (Mcdermott, 2009). As a result, he resolved to slide the plane in the river adjacent. Also, due to his experience in his job, he was able to land the plane safely into Hudson River. Sullenberger had 29 years working as a pilot of the US Airways. The pilot had also issued a warning to passengers that the plane had developed problems and that an emergency landing was an option. His option to land the plane into the river resulted in zero casualties. The captain also informed the air controllers that they would be landing on the Hudson River because landing on either LaGuardia or Teterboro airports was impossible. As a result, the air controllers notified the Coast Guard ferries to prepare to rescue people aboard the plane. Captain Sullenberger was highly praised and made news headlines all over the world due to the expert flying skills (Ripley, 50).

Although it is undoubtedly hard to land an airplane on water, the cabin crew demonstrated high-class non-technical skills gained from the aviation training which resulted in the successful results. The three heroines aboard Flight 1549 demonstrated ultimate experience without which the outcome would have been different. They utilized the initiative and skill they had gained through their many years of flying to use Able Bodied Passengers correctly when door 1R had failed to lock, as it should, to hold it open to prevent puncturing the slide. As a result, passengers would evacuate through this door under his arm. They also instructed the passengers to move towards the center of the cabin when the back exits were submerged into the water (Mcdermott, 2009). Due to this, the passengers avoided drowning and accelerating the sinking of the jetliner.

Moreover, they made sure the slides were well inflated, instructed the passengers to have their life jackets on and to remove cushions from the seats to assist them in floatation. The cabin crew also remained calm and kept reassuring their passengers while waiting to be rescued from the colder waters of Hudson River. Ultimately, they demonstrated unquestionable professionalism throughout the whole incident, while they dealt with their panic, shock, and injuries. As a result of the crew's professional actions, all the passengers were saved and rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment from minor injuries, hypothermia due to the coldness of the water (Ripley, 50). Only a few suffered major injuries, for instance, flight assistant Doreen Welsh suffered a deep laceration on her leg. After the ordeal, because of the bravery, they showed in handling the situation, the flight and the cabin crew were given various awards, for instance, Mayor Bloomberg awarded them the keys to New York City.

The behavior of the passengers also played a crucial role in surviving the plane accident. Because of their obedience to the cabin crew's evacuation orders, some put on their life jackets and others carried seat cushions that assisted them to float on the water. Other passengers moved to the middle of the plane and crowded the place. However, they were instructed by the flight attendants Dail and Dent to evacuate the plane using the front doors as instructed, which they did without question at least to save their lives. The rear part of the plane was sinking fast, and as a result, the flight attendants commanded the passengers to evacuate via the forward doors. Finally, after getting all passengers to the front of the plane, it was when she realized she had suffered a serious injury on her leg. The cause of her injury would have been due to the impact from a big metallic object that came up through the floor of the cabin and hit her leg (Mcdermott, 2009). Finally, all passengers were of the jetliner, and Captain Sully left the plane last after he and co-pilot Skiles crosschecked the cabin to ensure no passenger was left inside.

Conclusion

After everyone was outside the aircraft, the ordeal was not over yet. Because of the cold temperatures outside, air temperatures at the time read -7 degrees centigrade, survivors were now in danger of suffering from hypothermia. However, due to the quick arrival of the rescuers, freezing survivors were ferried to safety- ferries that operate on Hudson river hurriedly rushed the passengers to safer places. Within twenty-five minutes after the ditching, all survivors had been rescued thanks to the quick arrival of emergency services and the rescue workers. Because of the fast rescue operation, every person aboard the jetliner survived the ordeal (Ripley, 2008). As carefully observed, the ordeal took slightly over thirty minutes from the time the Airbus took off from LaGuardia airport to the time the last passenger was taken out of the wreckage (Mcdermott, 2009). Sheila Dail, Donna Dent, and Doreen Welsh proved the important role they play while aboard any plane, something some passengers unfortunate seemed not to remember.

Works Cited

Mcdermott, B. (2009). Timeline released of US Airways Flight 1549. [online] NJ.com. Available at: http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2009/01/timeline_released_of_us_airway.html [Accessed 2 Nov. 2018].

Ripley, Amanda. The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and How We Can Do Better. New York: Crown Publishers, 2008. Print.