Friday, January 16, 2009

True Heroes

Yesterday, some people did their jobs.

They performed their duties with a level of diligence that allowed 153 souls to walk away from what should have been a monumental disaster.

Chief among these people is Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III. His efforts in the air and on the Hudson River yesterday spared many families the horror of lost loved ones.

After safely landing a two-engine jet (with reportedly no power to his engines) on the Hudson River, he supervised the evacuation of his passengers and crew, even going so far as to walk up and down the aisle twice in almost freezing water that was rapidly filling the compartment.

Given the technical difficulty of his actions in the air, and his bravery and composure displayed during the evacuation process, I feel it is safe to say that he will be well regarded by his employer.

Apparently, this is not his first interaction with safety either. According to The Smoking Gun:

He is "the founder of Safety Reliability Methods. The firm describes itself as providing 'technical expertise and strategic vision and direction to improve safety and reliability in a variety of high risk industries.'"

As it has been said before, comments here on his enterprise would be superfluous...

We would do as well to remember the many private boaters, ferrymen, and Coast Guard crews that were on scene in three minutes. They worked so fast, that by the time the Main Stream Media arrived (some pictures are from cell phones and private cameras), most of the 148 passengers and 5 crew members were already being taken to local hospitals to be treated for hypothermia and minor injuries.

I will go ahead and take this instance as an example of the presence of God, the American Resolve, and true Hope for Humanity.

Read into it what you will...