Feb. 5, 2009
Sullenberger Recalls Moment Engines Died
Katie Couric Interviews The Amazing Pilot And Crew Of US Airways Flight 1549
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Play CBS Video Video Sully On The Record Katie Couric previews her upcoming interview with U.S. Airways Flight 1549 Cpt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and his crew airing on 60 Minutes, Sunday, Feb. 8, 7pm ET/PT.
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Video The Heroes Of Flight 1549 Katie Couric previews her upcoming 60 Minutes profile of the pilot and crew of U.S. Airways Flight 1549, which crashlanded in the Hudson River without a single loss of life or serious injury.
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Video Saving Flight 1549 "CBS News RAW:" Cpt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger spoke with TRACON, a traffic radar control center in Westbury, N.Y., as U.S. Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency landing in N.Y.'s Hudson River.
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Katie Couric, left, interviewing the crew of US Airways flight 1549 at Charlotte-Douglas International airport in Charlotte, N.C. The crew, from left to right, are Flight Attendants Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Doreen Welsh, the pilot, Capt. Chesley Sullenberger and Co-Pilot 1st Officer Jeffrey Skiles. (Aaron Tomlinson/CBS)
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Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger at home in his kitchen in Danville, Calif., with Katie Couric last Friday, Jan. 30, during his first interview since his extraordinary water landing last month. (Sam Painter/CBS)
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Everyone aboard the US Airways flight 1459 escaped alive, despite the frigid temperatures in the Hudson River. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
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Interactive Miracle On The Hudson All survive as commercial airliner makes emergency landing in Hudson River in New York.
He tells his riveting story for the first time to Katie Couric in an interview to be broadcast on 60 Minutes this Sunday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
On Jan. 15, less than two minutes after taking off from LaGuardia Airport en route to Charlotte, N.C., the Airbus A320 struck a flock of large birds and lost power in both engines. An eerie silence and a disturbing smell followed. It was a moment like no other for the aircraft's captain. "It was the worst sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling I've ever felt in my life," Sullenberger tells Couric. "I knew immediately it was very bad."
"Did you think, 'How are we going to get ourselves out of this?'" Couric asks. Sullenberger replies, "No. My initial reaction was one of disbelief."
Sullenberger then took control of the aircraft from First Officer Jeff Skiles and began to make the decisions and maneuvers that resulted in an emergency landing the world is still talking about.
The moment the birds entered his screen, the noises they made on impact, the thoughts running through his head, the distance to reach an airport, the river below - he recalls all of them for Couric in an interview that relives one of the major events in aviation history.
Crewmembers Skiles, flight attendants Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Doreen Welsh all relay their experiences in their first group interview. Skiles conveys his perspective while doing his duties in the cockpit and the attendants provide a breathtaking account of what they heard, saw and felt in the aircraft's cabin with 150 passengers who were told to "brace for impact" as the jetliner angled down toward the Hudson River, relying only on gravity and Sullenberger's skills to prevent their deaths.
Within minutes of the water landing, the crew helped their passengers out of the aircraft and first responders from New York City saved the day by averting a sure and quick death when they rescued passengers and crew as the plane sank into the freezing water.
Of the first responders, Sullenberger says, "Thank you seems totally inadequate. I have a debt of gratitude that I fear I may never be able to repay."
The story of flight 1549 - plus many of the passengers in an emotional reunion with their heroic crew - will be of extra-length and will lead Sunday’s broadcast of 60 Minutes.
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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- Hey, Sullenberger's book Highest Duty is available right now from BooksOnBoard as an ebook with 100% back as rewards dollars you can then spend on additional books. Basically, it looks like they are giving this title away for free, or at least for $0 net cost.
<a href="http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=509358">Highest Duty $0 Net</a> - Reply to this comment
- Sorry.. On line 6 instead of ''justing'', it should have read ''just doing''-his job.
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- I have been reading the posts of CBS.com readers, but I didn''t register until today. When I read the post of one of the readers, who was tired of hearing abot Captain Sullenberger, I thought about how the post would have read IF the worst had happened. Blame, outrage and lawsuits, would have been the issue. But in this situation, a cool head prevailed. Thank God everybody was able to survive this situation. After 8 years of the mockery of the Bush/Cheney era, we need a hero who was justing his job and applied the shills he had to preform this miracle. After hearing lies, blame and hatred for 8 years, YES!! We do need a change in hearing good news. And yes, this incident occured 5 days before Barak Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th President. This is just a reminder of what happened before January 20, 2001 took place-the swaering in of GWB and the start of the worst Administration in this day and time. Ignorance, greed and deceit were the key factors for the past 8 years of the White House. January 15,2009 was the date to remind us that CHANGE will come. Captain Sullenberger, ignore those who resent you. There are 154 families that are grateful to you, along with the rest of us intellegent people. Also remember that you were invited to our 44th President''s inauguration....Something that didn''t happen in 2001.
A hreo for ALL people, rich and poor. - Reply to this comment
- We need a hero right about now, how about running for president. Hats off to you and the crew sir!
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- Capt. Sullenberger is so cool, so rational. When Couric spurts out that idiotic question, "did you pray" when the plane was going down... he responds that he thinks there were people in the back praying. We are all grateful that Sully is a rational person, flying the plane, doing his job... rather than pushing his responsibility off on an invisible man in the sky. How many more disasters could be averted if they were rational like Sully?
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- I thought I would be the only one that thought Katie Couric did a poor job!!! Of all the great reporters...Why her?
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- heart tugging story that truly makes you feel good at the end. No one has earned his place in aviation history better than Captain "Sully". Katie Couric will be unable to earn such a place in her industry ... this story could have only been greater if there had been a better interviewer....
Posted by BigHed01 at 09:50 PM : Feb 08, 2009
err one would think your opinion would be about his heroics , not trashing the interviewer mwho merely ahd you unknown delicate feelings to worry about not your life as he did . you distract from thee story and show your true ingterests ,,could you have posted more times on this site? weird agenda on your part instead of celebratign his actions you try to dominate an opinion board based on ms couric ,pretty bizzare behaviour on your part, you posted the same thing at least 6 times ,take your meds - Reply to this comment
- A heart tugging story that truly makes you feel good at the end. No one has earned his place in aviation history better than Captain "Sully". Katie Couric will be unable to earn such a place in her industry ... this story could have only been greater if there had been a better interviewer....
- Reply to this comment
- A heart tugging story that truly makes you feel good at the end. No one has earned his place in aviation history better than Captain "Sully". Katie Couric will be unable to earn such a place in her industry ... this story could have only been greater if there had been a better interviewer....
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- - Thank you, 60 minutes, for how you presented the story of Captain %u201CSully%u201D Sullenberger and his crew, and their brief flight. I believe you managed to do it without using the nonsensical word %u201Cmiracle%u201D. You see, besides the excellent design and construction of their aircraft, we owe it all to superb training, long experience, personal discipline, and coolness under fire.
- Katie''s inane question about prayer was beautifully non-answered by Sully.
- There are no miracles. A %u201Cmiracle%u201D would be when something impossible happens. As someone summarized it long ago: if something happened, it%u2019s possible %u2013 if it%u2019s impossible, it will never happen. There was nothing supernatural about this flying feat; no intervention of an imagined deity. Just Humans at their best. And it was Human beings that were saved - not "souls".
- Again, thank you. - Reply to this comment
- A heart tugging story that truly makes you feel good at the end. No one has earned his place in aviation history better than Captain "Sully". Katie Couric will be unable to earn such a place in her industry ... this story could have only been greater if there had been a better interviewer....
- Reply to this comment
- A heart tugging story that truly makes you feel good at the end. No one has earned his place in aviation history better than Captain "Sully". Katie Couric will be unable to earn a place in her industry ... this story could have only been greater if there had been a better interviewer....
- Reply to this comment
- A heart tugging story that truly makes you feel good at the end. No one has earned his place in aviation history better than Captain "Sully". Katie Couric will be unable to earn a place in her industry ... this story could have only been greater if there had been a better interviewer....
- Reply to this comment
- A heart tugging story that truly makes you feel good at the end. No one has earned his place in aviation history better than Captain "Sully". Katie Couric will be unable to earn a place in her industry ... this story could have only been greater if there had been a better interviewer....
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- Heroic crew, to be sure, but do they have to a whole hour long show on just this event? geez.. I agree about katie couric. I don''t like her either.
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- Oh my! Couric is an idiot! Unfortunate your token female is a terrible representative of the X chromosome, not to mention journalists. Wow!
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- The blonde stewardess seems to be posturing for a lawsuit. Not gratitude at all!!!!!
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- The blonde stewardess seems to be posturing for a lawsuit. Not gratitude at all!!!!!
- Reply to this comment
- The blonde stewardess seems to be posturing for a lawsuit. Not gratitude at all!!!!!
- Reply to this comment
- The blonde stewardess seems to be posturing for a lawsuit. Not gratitude at all!!!!!
- Reply to this comment
