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As Tapes Released, Pilot Recalls Landing

AP
posted: 229 DAYS 4 HOURS AGO
comments: 592
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(Feb. 5) - Hero pilot Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger says the moments after both engines of US Airways Flight 1549 lost power were the worst of his life.
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He told Katie Couric in a CBS "60 Minutes" interview it was "the worst sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling" he's ever had.
Sullenberger said his first reaction when birds flew into the plane's engines was disbelief.
He glided the Airbus A320 over the George Washington Bridge and into the Hudson River. All 155 people aboard survived.
The captain praised New York City's first responders. He said "thank you seems totally inadequate" and he has "a debt of gratitude" he fears he may never be able to repay.
The interview is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. EST Sunday.
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Listen to Audio From Flight 1549 Before the Landing
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Earlier Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration released recordings in which Sullenberger calmly radios to air traffic controllers, "We're going to be in the Hudson."
The audio recordings reflect the initial tension between tower controllers and the cockpit and then confusion about whether the passenger jet went into the river.
"Emergency inbound," one tower controller says as he tries to arrange for the stricken plane to land at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.
"Can I get him in for Runway One?" the controller at La Guardia asks the tower at Teterboro.
"Runway One, that's good," says the tower controller at Teterboro.
"1529 turn right two-eight-zero" for Teterboro, the tower at LaGuardia orders the plane's pilot.
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"We can't do it," replies the plane's pilot.
"Which runway would you like at Teterboro?" asks the tower at LaGuardia.
"We're going to be in the Hudson," the pilot replies.
"I'm sorry, say again," an air traffic controller responded after hearing the pilot's message that he was ditching the Airbus A320.
There was no response from the aircraft.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2009-02-05 11:26:36

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Stiles17

04:04 PMFeb 08 2009

Sully is a hero no doubt, but someone on that "miracle plane" will come forward and sue the airline, the pilot, the crew, and probably the birds. Why? Because that is what we have become as a society, as Americans. Get rich quick at the expense of heros. What has happened to us? What has happened to this once great country. Our fathers and grandfathers would be ashamed of us all!

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Msteven229

02:39 PMFeb 06 2009

How long is the news media going to talk about this story this happened weeks ago and they are still on it time to move on news media i for one am sick of hearing about it

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Loyhight

10:04 AMFeb 06 2009

Being priveleged to work with small airlines the merged and sold etc. for forty years, I got to congratulate several pilots who kept their cool and brought the plane down in one piece in critical situations. One special pilot told me, I am no hero, I was looking out for my (bleep) and didn't give the passengers a thought until we were down. Yes, "Sully" brought it down safely, and maintained his calm and was a real CAPITAN.

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Bkhayes1

09:57 AMFeb 06 2009

I still get emotional when I read of this story.God Bless America, Land that I love

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Baackster

09:34 AMFeb 06 2009

what a HERO that pilot is. he admitted later he was scared, but he acted calmly and did what i would have thought impossible! people can trash this story all they want, but everyone on board that plane has HIM to thank for their lives, for being able to go home to their families. Amazing!

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JAIS7

09:13 AMFeb 06 2009

The captain saved more than the 155 people on board, but many others on the ground who don't even know how lucky they are that he sacrificed all on board to save those on the ground. He is a true hero and should be credited with saving more than 155 lives. I can't imagine having to make that decision.

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FrankieBoy26

07:37 AMFeb 06 2009

Seeing that plane flying so low must have been a cihilling scene to many New Yorkers who remember the planes flying low and into the World Trade Center. Had I seen it, I would have immediately thought it was another terrorist attack.

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RAyars

06:02 AMFeb 06 2009

I think I might know what was going through Capt. Chesley's mind; Hughes H-4 Hercules, (Spruce Goose), OK, watch this folks! Incredible!

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RAyars

06:01 AMFeb 06 2009

I think I might know what was going through Capt. Chesley's mind; Hughes H-4 Hercules, (Spruce Goose), OK, watch this folks! Incredible!

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JerDixie

03:54 AMFeb 06 2009

Msteven229, yes a lot of big stories have happened in the world since this story -- President Obama passing bills and choosing cabinet members, the Super Bowl, Michael Phelps, to name a few. But this is one amazing story with an against-all-odds happy ending that deserves some extra time. After all, 155 people's lives were saved due to this amazing pilot and his crew. And this is the first interview, finally!, with Captain Sully. I can't wait to watch it, and I'm doubly glad I won't have to watch it with some of the negative people leaving these comments here. What a downer that would be. I plan to enjoy every minute of this interview come Sunday.

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Audio recordings of a conversation between the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 and tower controllers reveal some confusion before the plane miraculously landed in New York\'s Hudson River. All 155 aboard survived the incident last month.