Classic Aero-TV: US Air' Jeff Skiles -- Making History and Looking To The Future | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-11.04.24

Airborne-NextGen-11.05.24

Airborne-Unlimited-11.06.24

Airborne-FlightTraining-11.07.24

Airborne-Unlimited-11.08.24

Wed, Dec 22, 2010

Classic Aero-TV: US Air' Jeff Skiles -- Making History and Looking To The Future

Skiles Reflects On His Ring-Side Seat To An Historic Event

E-I-C Note: The Aero-TV Team -- Jim, Tom, Nathan, Paul, The 'Other' Jim, Ashley, Birgit, Wes, Klyde, Anjin, and the rest of the aero-gnomes -- want to wish you Happy Holidays while we all pursue our own various and sundry holiday diversions. Our regular daily webcasting schedule will resume promptly on Monday, January 3rd, 2011. In the meantime, please enjoy this 'classic' episode of Aero-TV from the past year as we all recover from our various and sundry Christmas celebrations...

Jeff Skiles, First Officer of US Airways Flight 1549, "The Miracle on the Hudson," was the guest speaker for the AEA Annual Awards Luncheon on Friday, April 9th, during the Aircraft Electronics Association's 53rd annual International Convention & Trade Show, from April 7-10, in Orlando, FL -- he was also our guest for an intriguing interview shortly before that speech. 

Skiles stepped into history on a bright, 20-degree afternoon in January 2009, as US Airways Flight 1549 rolled down New York La Guardia Airport's main runway with 155 passengers and crew, headed skyward for Charlotte, NC. Everything was normal until Skiles spotted a formation of Canada geese on the right side of the aircraft, seemingly headed directly toward them.

Skiles, who was flying the plane manually, was relieved when the nose of the plane rose above the geese, but that relief was short-lived. A few seconds later, he heard four distinct "thunks" as the birds crashed into the engines of the Airbus A320. Both engines immediately failed. Skiles lost his instruments.

Captain Chesley Sullenberger took over flying the plane and lowered the nose to retain airspeed. Within 60 seconds, the pilots made the decision that returning to LaGuardia or diverting to Teterboro or Newark Airports was just too risky - they'd have to fly over densely populated areas and there was no guarantee they'd make it. So, surrounded by nothing but skyscrapers and neighborhoods, they decided to head to the only open, flat space available: the Hudson River.

In his humble, Midwestern style, Skiles has criss-crossed the country explaining the key lessons of teamwork, adaptability, training and preparation, which he and his crewmates relied on that day, and relates these concepts to the daily lives of individuals and organizations. From the mechanics and the maintenance workers to the people who write the emergency protocols and the flight attendants, Skiles believes every level of the US Airways organization is responsible for the outcome on January 15, 2009.

FMI: www.usairways.com, www.aea.net, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (11.06.24): Conflict Alert

Conflict Alert A function of certain air traffic control automated systems designed to alert radar controllers to existing or pending situations between tracked targets (known IFR >[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (11.06.24)

“The aerospace supply chain supports industry growth and opportunities. It involves tens of thousands of suppliers from all over the globe which provide parts, platforms and >[...]

Airborne 11.04.24: World Drone Races, Manta Aircraft, Stratus Power Max

Also: Large Formation Skydiving, USCG Medevac, ARTCC Meteorologists, SpaceX 2024 100th The 2024 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Drone Racing>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (11.07.24)

“This is a victory, we can hold our heads high. We all stood strong, and we achieved something that we hadn’t achieved the last 22 years…Now it’s our job t>[...]

Airborne 11.06.24: Skyryse One, MASSIVE Lycoming AD, Coked Up C206

Also: Hartzell Expands, Japan V-22 Ills, RCAF H135 Deal, B-29 Doc On Tour Skyryse reservations for its Skyryse One First Edition helicopters have sold out in just six months. Early>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC