Jeffrey Skiles Plans To Resume Flying This Month

One of the two men who managed to ditch a stricken Airbus A320 in New York's Hudson River in January plans to return to the cockpit this month. First Officer Jeffrey Skiles said he plans to get some sim time under his belt, before resuming his flightline duties with US Airways.

As ANN reported, Skiles was the flying pilot when US Airways Flight 1549 departed LaGuardia Airport on January 15, for what was supposed to be a routine run to Charlotte, NC. As the A320 climbed through 3,000 feet, Skiles saw a large flock of geese flying towards the plane... too close to allow him time to maneuver away from them.

Birds took out both of the plane's turbofans, turning the airliner into a glider. At that point, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger took over control of the plane, and guided the plane to the successful ditching in the Hudson. All 155 passengers and crew onboard survived, with only a handful of injuries reported.

Skiles (shown above right) made his comments Wednesday, reports MSNBC, while being honored during the National Air Traffic Controllers Association "Communicating for Safety" conference in Las Vegas. Sullenberger was also lauded at the event, along with controllers Patrick Harten and Bill McLoughlin and the three flight attendants who handled the passenger evacuation.

In addition to the NATCA honors, the president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association also bestowed special honors on Skiles and Harten, on behalf of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation.

"Every single day, pilots and controllers are doing what they’re trained to do, but the public doesn’t come to know it or appreciate it until something galvanizes the news media to tell a story," said AOPA's Craig Fuller. "Out of what could have been a terrible tragedy came an understanding of what pilots and controllers are engaged in that is really quite remarkable."

Noting that celebrity is a fleeting thing, Skiles said he plans to keep flying until he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 65. He also admitted to some difficulty in returning to a normal routine in the days following the incident, saying he had problems sleeping.

"When you normally have an incident, you have post-traumatic shock symptoms and I did myself for the first week, week-and-a-half," Skiles said. "I got over it pretty fast."

Sullenberger hasn't said when he plans to return to the cockpit, but recently wrote in a magazine essay he thinks he'll be ready in a few months.

(Screengrab image of Skiles from "The Charlie Rose Show")

FMI: www.usairways.com, www.natca.org, www.aopa.org