All Hail The Aero-Heroes of 2009!
Final Compilations by ANN
Editor-In-Chief/Trouble-Maker, Jim Campbell
It is both the most "fun," and most
difficult, task facing the ANN staff at the end of every year --
determining who, or what, did the most to promote the cause of
aviation in the past 365 days... while also chastising those people
or entities that did all they could to undermine the many successes
the aviation/aerospace community has managed to accomplish.
Thankfully, 2009 was a year in which we saw the best and brightest
among us step forward and work tirelessly on behalf of us all. No
doubt about it... the challenges we faced in 2009 were numerous,
and ongoing... so was the quality of expertise and passion brought
to our defense by those who heroically demonstrated to the world
the very best side of aviation... via their deeds, words and
actions.
It is ANN's honor to recognize Ten persons/organizations or groups
that qualify as our Aero-Heroes for 2009... in something of an
informal order, starting from the 10th to the 1st. Let us know what
you think of our selections... whom YOU would have liked be
included or omitted from such a list. In the meantime, we thank the
folks who made this year's list. Thank you, folks... we really
needed you this year, and you didn't let us down.
ANN will list our Top Ten choices over the next few day's, but
in order to kick off the New Year right, let's enjoy another
selection from our Heroes List for 2009...
Aero-Heroes #3: Captain Sully and His Crew
Wow. Just as it seemed that aviation was never going to pull
itself out from under the dark cloud created by so many ponderous
factors, we witnessed the enormity of the "Miracle on the Hudson."
While Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger performed heroically in
the ditching of his Airbus into the Hudson River, pilots like you
and I know that there was nothing innately 'heroic' about
it... he was doing his job, he was doing it competently, and he and
his crew pulled off a magnificent piece of airmanship under
extraordinary odds. He didn't have time to be heroic... he flew his
aircraft to the best of his ability to the best possible conclusion
under great pressure and tough circumstances.
Photo By Gregory Lam
Let's be realistic, though, had this massive propulsion failure
occurred in bad weather, reduced visibility, off another runway
that didn't present the option of a waterway to land upon within
gliding distance of the collision point, or other acts of the
Almighty; even the extraordinary airmanship of Sully and his crew
may have come to naught. It's good to be lucky. And it's lucky to
be good. And it's particularly beneficial when you leverage both to
your best ability and are unwilling to quit when fate hands you a
big bag of crap. Sully survived because Sully wouldn't quit.
Captain Chesley Sullenberger
And so the nation celebrated the heroics of Jeffrey Skiles,
Chesley Sullenberger, and a magnificent cabin crew that worked
together as a professional team to save their passengers and
themselves... and thereafter stepped into aviation history. But
once again, while there are heroic aspects of what they did, I
doubt that they consider it all that heroic, and simply realize
that circumstances demanded their "A" game -- and they delivered.
Pilots all over the world know what I'm talking about -- many of us
have had those occasional moments when circumstances mount up and
present us with urgent criticalities that can either kill us in a
few moments, or become a really good war story a few hours hence --
dependant totally on how we address the circumstances before us.
While I'm proud to count Sullenberger and Skiles as one of our own,
my real pride in them both is not just the fact that they did
their jobs and did it well, but the uncommon good graces that they
displayed every day thereafter. They made us ever prouder to
be aviators.
Sully and his crew presented a professional, competent, and calm
attitude to the world... after their concerns for their passengers
were mollified with the assurance that all were well, they each
honored the other members of their team by crediting each
other (rather than themselves) as the answer to a sticky set
of problems that could have gone horribly awry. In the year since
the Hudson ditching, these men and women have become positive
spokespersons for the cool competence that is displayed DAILY by
most every aviation professional. In expressing their gratitude to
their fellow fliers, through service to the industry they work
within, they continue to offer up little bits of heroic interaction
that denote their true character. Sullenberger became a passionate
spokesman for the needs of an airline industry, and the true
working professionals that keep it in the air -- by being honest
about the foes we face, the hazards we endure, and the dark future
that this industry faces unless relevant and expertly crafted
guidance is provided to set us on a more progressive and
constructive path. They didn't mince words, they didn't parrot the
corporate line, they told the truth, and they told it well.
Sullenberger and Skiles have become aviation figureheads since
then, and instead of sitting back and enjoying the ego trip,
they've served our industry through their efforts on a number
of fronts such as EAA's Young Eagles program and so many
others.
FO Jeffrey Skiles
Yes, taken in total, this is heroism -- and it's the loftier
mode of heroism that all aviators should emulate and be ready
to display when circumstances warrant. At a time when aviation
seems capable of little more than licking its wounds, Captain Sully
and his crew prove how much we have to be proud of, and how much we
have to measure up to. Thank God for that.