Quote:
Originally Posted by NJblue
While I had not thought about this from a perspective of pilot decision, I was thinking the exact same thing in terms of being in the area of lots of ferry boats, etc. I believe the immediate "touchdown" area was just off Weehawkin where a ferry boat does nothing but go back and forth to NYC all day long. If this had happened on just about any other waterway, the results could have been disasterous. If selection of this area to put it down was indeed a conscious decision by the pilot, then he is an even bigger hero.
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I read an interview the pilot gave where he did say that he had no choice but the Hudson (city sidewalks wouldn't work) and he did decide to head downriver to reach a point where ferries and tugs would be readily available to help get the folks out of the water. So he did think it through!
It is an incredible testament to the kind of person this pilot is (smart, brave, cool under pressure), and the training he went through, that he could quickly process all of the information available and pick a spot where there were folks to help the passengers out of the plane. It's now even more amazing to me!