Fly By Wire
The Geese, The Glide, The 'Miracle' on the Hudson
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4.0 • 17 Ratings
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- £7.99
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
On January 15, 2009, a US Airways Airbus A320 had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport in New York, when a flock of Canada geese collided with it, destroying both of its engines. Over the next three minutes, the plane's pilot Chelsey "Sully" Sullenberger, managed to glide to a safe landing in the Hudson River. It was an instant media sensation, the "The Miracle on the Hudson", and Captain Sully was the hero. But, how much of the success of this dramatic landing can actually be credited to the genius of the pilot? To what extent is the "Miracle on the Hudson" the result of extraordinary - but not widely known, and in some cases quite controversial - advances in aviation and computer technology over the last twenty years?
From the testing laboratories where engineers struggle to build a jet engine that can systematically resist bird attacks, through the creation of the A320 in France, to the political and social forces that have sought to minimize the impact of the revolutionary fly-by-wire technology, William Langewiesche assembles the untold stories necessary to truly understand "The Miracle on the Hudson", and makes us question our assumptions about human beings in modern aviation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Much more than a straight retelling of U.S. Airways flight 1549's miraculous landing on the Hudson, Langewiesche's latest uses the story and the heroism of pilots Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles as a lens through which to examine the advances in and flaws of modern air travel and piloting. David Drummond delivers a solid reading, relaying the detail-laden text the backstories of the pilots, the technical information, the gripping blow-by-blow with clarity and careful pacing. A subtle performance that enhances and never overwhelms the material. A Farrar, Straus Giroux hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 9).
Customer Reviews
Fly by wire
A superb account of this incident. Well written and punctuated with a host of related incidents from the past. A great read
Drivel
What a shame, I had to keep forcing my way through over exaggerated over explained mis understood drivel for Sully's sake. I think the author might be a frustrated airline pilot. Constantly bashing the job, the industry and pilots. Shame on him for indulging his hatred for a wonderful profession at the sake of Sully. His (the author's) perception of the Airbus is dramatically flawed and overly romanticized. Not once does he discuss the crashes caused by the Airbus systems and the reconfiguring of the computer authority. Describing any other aircraft as dangerous and likely to result in death by pilot is total garbage.
The author seems forgiving towards sully when describing why he didn't, in a split second, turn back towards the airport of departure. And yet is scathing of other pilots in other similarly time critical situations. Seemingly discounting the fact that decision making time is required in stressful and unusual situations.
The author, even after discussing non standard operating as bad and disgracefully unprofessional when done by other pilots. For some reason, Sully when operating out of the standard operating procedure maintains his god like status. All he proved was the operating procedures detailed by Airbus were inadequate in a double engine failure. Sully quite correctly protected himself by starting the APU in contravention to the checklist.
Not recommended for anyone, pilots or otherwise.