FLIGHT 1549: HERO & UNSUNG HEROS; THE LESSONS HEREIN FOR NIGERIA

(Article written Feb 2010)

The media at home and abroad have hailed the text book splash, evacuation and rescue of passengers and crew on Flight 1549, which departed LaGuardia Airport in New York, en route to Charlotte, North Carolina on the 15th of January 2009. The aircraft and crew experienced a bird strike shortly after takeoff, which led to loss of power in the aircraft engines and the subsequent landing in the Hudson River.

The hero and unsung heroes on that cold afternoon were on board that aircraft while others are residents or citizens of the USA.

THE HERO: Capt. Chesley Sullen Berger III the 57 year old, Danville, California born former fighter jet pilot with over twenty years experience with US Airways took control of the aircraft when the First Officer said “your aircraft”. He made efforts to return to land at two different airports, but when he realized he was losing altitude and needed to minimize the risk he then reportedly told Air Traffic Controllers "We can't do it, "We're gonna be in the Hudson."

Just before landing he told the passengers and crew to brace for impact, therafter he smoothly landed the plane in the Hudson River, close to some ferries. He did that so passengers can be rescued quickly and in line with commercial airline ditching procedure. After the plane had been evacuated, the Captain walked the length of the cabin twice to confirm that no one remained inside before exiting the aircraft. On getting to the pier he collected contact information from his crew while still wet on a cold afternoon.

UNSUNG HEROS: Flight Officer Jeff Skiles – He was at the controls of the airplane when it took off from LaGuardia and was the first to notice a formation of birds approaching the aircraft. The windscreen turned dark brown and several loud thuds were heard, thereafter the engines lost power. He made several attempts to restart the engines and began going through a three-page emergency landing procedure checklist.

CABIN CREW: Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Doreen Welsh were the Cabin Crew on board that flight with an average of 26 years flying experience. They briefed the cockpit crew on hearing a loud bang in the cabin and prepared the cabin for landing by instructing passengers to keep their heads down.

They initiated evacuation in the cabin using the over wing exits, and resisted passengers who attempted to open the rear doors and successfully deployed the slides of the front doors that were used as raft automatically and manually deployed the other slide. Though, not prepared for ditching, they were still able to evacuate the passengers with life jackets and other floatable materials such as aircraft seats.

There was only one major injury on that flight which is a deep leg laceration suffered by cabin veteran with 38 years flying experience, Doreen Welsh while resisting the passengers from opening the rear doors.
The lesson here is that safety conscious airlines look beyond slimness, beauty and mini skirts, which only make them smile with the passenger in the cabin and probably in heaven or hell.

PASSENGERS: These heroes were not briefed about landing in water. The last statement from the cockpit via the PA was “brace for impact” In that mêlée they were able to listen to Cabin Crew who directed them to the over wing exits and also informed them to take floatable materials.

The passengers opened some of the over wing exits themselves which contributed to the expeditious evacuation from the aircraft. A certain passenger “Josh” at one over wing exit, who must have read the safety pamphlet on board had to open one of the exits by twisting and throwing it out of the aircraft. Curiously, the passengers made provision for mothers with babies to get to the exits. We should really learn to be calm, listen to Cabin Crew briefing and instructions in all situations. Also, when Cabin Crew resit passengers close to exit doors, it is in the interest of safety not comfort.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC): They responded quickly to the “May Day” call from cactus 1549 i.e. the call sign for flight 1549 and asked the Captain to proceed to Runway 13 at LaGuardia which was cleared for him to land. His response was that he would not be able to make it and informed the ATC that he had spotted an airport and indicated a desire to attempt an emergency landing there. ATC identified the airport as Teterboro Airport in Bergen County, New Jersey. Again, Flight 1549 could not get there.

AIRBUS: The aircraft that operated the flight was an Airbus 320-214 that was delivered brand new sometime in August 1999. On losing power on the two engines the Auxiliary power unit (APU) and Ram Air Turbine (RAT) provided back up electrical power and hydraulic pressure for the aircraft even at very low speed. This was confirmed by the NTSB report.

Thankfully, these equipments responded at the time they were needed and did not disappoint like the Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) that has refused to transmit or locate in recent times. The A320 also has a "ditching" button that closes valves and openings underneath the aircraft. It is meant to slow flooding in water landing. Though, it was not activated by the crew for the Hudson splash. It is also important to note that Airbus quickly dispatched Engineers to New York to assist Investigators.

SECURITY & EMERGENCY AGENCIES: The agencies in and around New York were splendid in their responsibilities and performance. On sighting an aircraft in the river, they immediately mobilized and commandeered ferries and boats to the crashed aircraft. A helicopter from NY Fire Department was at hand hovering over the aircraft with Divers in a matter of minutes. These Divers pulled two passengers who slipped off the aircraft wing out of the water. The Marine Unit of New York Police Department (NYPD) led the rescue effort using their boats which normally patrols the Hudson.

Also, in response to a 911 call, 35 ambulances were waiting to attend to the rescued passengers. 10 of them were general purpose while 25 had full medical equipment to care for severe cases.
FAAN should quickly upgrade their airport emergency plan and procedure to include areas around the cities and water ways.

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD (NTSB): An organization entrusted with the responsibility of investigating accidents like our own Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) sent investigators to the crash site immediately. They were quick in picking the maintenance records of the aircraft. They have been briefing the press regularly on updates in investigation without having to obtain clearance from the Ministry or Presidency. A clear case of Autonomy.

They took control of the site and aircraft and quickly ensured the retrieval of the aircraft and the severed engine from the icy Hudson. Organic material found on an engine was sent to the lab for DNA testing, while Engineers from Airbus are being closely monitored. Even retrieved passenger and crew luggage will be held for some time.

AVIATION UNIONS: They rallied round the entire Crew with words of encouragement. The pilot union bestowed on them the Master's Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, which is given for rare aviation achievements, with the citation, "This emergency ditching and evacuation, with the loss of no lives, is a heroic and unique aviation achievement” .

The President of Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) flew to New York to assist in debriefing the passengers and colleagues in the cabin of flight 1549 and responded to all enquiries pertaining to the profession. The lesson here is unionism is not just about collecting dues or “I no go gree” slogan. The rejection of the Crew who operated the ill fated Beechcraft 1900 by the pilot union in Nigeria was unexpected, considering that at that point in time no body knew their fate.

MEDIA: The headlines were full of praises for everyone, and the heroic feat was more pronounced. Had this occurred in our country, the headlines would probably have been “155 passengers escape death”, or “plane crashes on the Marina” with “severe injuries to passengers” or “plane sinks in Marina as crew fail to activate ditching button”.
Please we need to get rid of alarming captions that scare passengers away from the industry.

PUBLIC SUPPORT: The US Congress or the State of New York did not play to the gallery by initiating hasty probes and proclamation, but allowed NTSB, the body entrusted with the responsibility to do the talking.

The new President invited the entire Crew to his inauguration, while the former president George W. Bush said he was "inspired by the skill and heroism of the Flight Crew," and also praised the emergency responders and volunteers. The Mayor of New York awarded the Crew the key to the City, while the organizers of the Super bowl XLIII offered them free tickets. They are still being fêted by different groups in America.

US AIRWAYS: The airline involved in the crash, immediately dispatched officials to support and comfort the passengers who were lodged in a hotel by the airline. The Chief Executive Officer flew to New York to see the passengers and handed a letter of apology to individual passengers.

They offered to refund the ticket fare, gave $5,000 to each passenger for missing/withheld luggage and gave some guarantees for further compensation, when insurance issues are settled.
Please note it did not take years to initiate and process these things, like it is done by some Nigerian airlines.

Though, fatalities when ditching has always been a norm, it is not the first time we are witnessing a 100% successful ditching. On the 21st of August 1963, an Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-124 ditched into the Neva River after running out of fuel. The aircraft floated and was towed by a tug, with its passengers near to the shore where the passengers disembarked onto the tug; all 52 on board escaped without injuries.

A review of flight 1549 shows that the birds struck 90 seconds after takeoff, at a point outside the airport jurisdiction and that aircraft engine manufacturers including CFM International the owners of the engine on that aircraft test engines physically and through computer simulation. In the physical tests, the engines are revved to full power inside a test facility and absorb various kinds of birds, to pass the test, engines must keep operating after the collision, maintaining enough power to take off, fly around the airport and land the plane safely, because a jet with two engines has to be able to take off on 50 percent power.

To avoid such occurrence airport managers should extend the anti-bird policies beyond the airport vicinity and the engine manufacturers should improve on the materials used for the blades and the ability of the engine to suck organic materials.

The industry is awoken by flight 1549, as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has already beefed up evacuation training for Cabin Crew. This week, it proposed new regulation calling for annual "hands on" drills on the use of emergency equipment and process for all Cabin Crew. Currently, such training sessions are required every two years, also American Airlines agreed to have the cabin crew join the voluntary safety reporting programme which is meant to enhance safety.

We have noticed an increased interest in the safety pamphlets at the back of seat pockets in the aircraft; the important role of people who sit in the exit rows is reinforced. We really need to question the policy that those exit row seats, with their extra legroom, often go to frequent fliers, as a perk, or are even sold to passengers who are willing to pay a bit more for the extra space. The competence of the passenger is never really considered.

The NCAA should please look at these issues and ensure a quick implementation within Nigerian airspace.