The remarkable true story of Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger's heroic
crash landing in the Hudson River, as told by the passengers who owe him
their lives.
Millions watched the aftermath on television, while others witnessed the
event actually happening from the windows of nearby skyscrapers. But
only 155 people know firsthand what really happened on U.S. Airways
Flight 1549 on January 15, 2009. Now, for the first time, the survivors
detail their astounding, terrifying, and inspiring experiences on that
freezing winter day in New York City. Written by two esteemed
journalists, Miracle on the Hudson is the entire tale from takeoff
to bird strike to touchdown to rescue, seen through the eyes and felt in
the souls of those on board the fateful flight.
Revealing many new and compelling details, Miracle on the Hudson
dramatically evokes the explosion and smell of burning flesh as both
engines were destroyed by geese, the violent landing on the river that
felt like a huge car wreck, the gridlock in the aisles as the plane
filled swiftly with freezing water, and the thrill of the passengers'
rescue from the wings and from rafts--all of it recalled by the cross
section of America on board.
Jay McDonald, a thirty-nine-year-old software developer, had survived
brain-tumor surgery just two years earlier and now faced the
unimaginable.
Tracey Wolsko, a nervous flier, suddenly became other people's rock:
Just pray. It's going to be all right. Jim Whitaker, a construction
executive, reassured a nervous mother of two young children on board,
only later admitting, I was pathologically lying the whole time. As the
plane started sinking, Lucille Palmer, eighty-five, told her daughter to
save herself: Just leave me!
Featuring much more than what the media reported--moments of chaos in
addition to stoicism and common sense, and the fortuitous mistakes and
quick instincts that saved lives that otherwise would have been
lost--Miracle on the Hudson is the chronicle of one of the most
phenomenal feel-good stories of recent years, one that could have been a
nightmare and instead became a stirring narrative of heroism and hope
for our times.
