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Captain "Sully" Sullenberger: Where Are You?

January 27, 2009 RSS Feed Print

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GL Hoffman

We need heroes, and I thought maybe the US Airways pilot who so skillfully landed his Airbus A320 in the Hudson River on January 16 would fit the bill.

We've read about his courage/bravery/skill/heroics in saving over 150 lives that afternoon. All of us watched as pictures were released, showing patient passengers standing on the wings waiting for the first responders to respond.

If you were like me, I'll bet you kept one eye on the TV that night, hoping that Anderson Cooper would track down the pilot and help us understand how one simple man could do such things. "And he walked the aisles TWICE after everyone exited the plane, making sure no one was left behind!!"

But no. We heard the pilot's union was preventing Captain Sully from answering questions while the NTSB investigated the accident. As I said in my home blog, this would be like the NFL not allowing Tom Brady to speak to reporters after the Super Bowl, so they could review the films to make sure he played well.

US Airways should have known better. Remember this is the airline that has filed for bankruptcy twice (in 2002 and 2004), saw 72,000 claims of lost or damaged bags over the holiday season a few years ago, and last year was the first airline to charge for coffee, tea or water.

The half life of American heroes is fairly short, and the pilots, airlines, first responders, ferry boat operators, even the tug boat pilots, all could use a bit of the positive rub-off of Captain Sully’s exposure.

I knew that if he could, he would have spoken eloquently about doing his duty, his team of coworkers, the great people of New York and how, “Aw shucks, it was nothing, I was just doing what I have been trained to do. Anyone would have done the same thing."

We need to hear that phrase--that any of us would have done that. It would be a shame if he is being managed, or mismanaged. Just watch his interview on 60 Minutes on February 8th, I hope he is not being overcoached. We like our heroes natural, forthright, honest, humble and even a bit awkward.

G.L. Hoffman is a serial entrepreneur and venture investor/operator/incubator/mentor. Two of his companies have traveled the entire success path from the garage to IPO. Currently, he is chairman of JobDig , and his blog can be found at WhatWouldDadSay.com or at JobDig.com.

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To Fred and all the others who does not have respect for God:
Yes, it is God who is the Creator of us all and omnipotent. He allowed the birds to go into the engine and yes, He allowed the crisis of the World Trade Center. It is sad but true and it happened for a reason. We may not understand why. But also, He guided Sullenberger gently down. It was the Hand of God. No doubt about it. And Sullenberger should give the glory to God. Yes, it is true that he is skilled and trained but there have been other skilled trained pilots that have not made it. God was truly there with them and everyone should thank HIM for it. It does not matter to me if you believe this because I know it is true (not an opinion)!

PO of WI 8:41PM February 09, 2009

Some people seemed confused as to who was in control of the “Hudson ditching”. To me, that is sad and says an overwhelming statement about the state of our world (not just our nation)and its belief in a higher power and yes, I will say it…GOD,Jesus Christ,Lord,Jehovah!
Yes, God did allow those birds to fly into the plane.It is called “testing”.God tests us all. Just maybe God wants Sully’s attention or someone's.God gives us the “free will” to believe as we choose. He also brings consequences with those beliefs. I,for one, believe God was in control of that aircraft and worked THROUGH Sully and the crew to bring the plane down safely. Do any of you remember it being said “there had NEVER been a successful ditching”? He could have just as easily been unsuccessful. I’m sure the unsuccessful people had the same training and wanted to survive.Please don’t get me wrong.I’m not trying to discredit what he did.I’m just extremely disappointed that he’s getting ALL the credit.
This man is a human being. I’ll give him credit for having skill and professionalism, but who do you think brought that forth in him? Is he a hero? Yes, in the HUMAN sense, and if I or a family member had been on that plane, I would have been very grateful for his skill and professionalism, BUT I would have also fallen on my knees and thanked GOD that he brought them all through this. This event happened for a reason; although we may never know the reason. I do wonder why God chose Sully.
As for 9ll – God allows bad things to happen, and my heart goes out to every life that was touched by that horrible event. God has allowed bad things to happen to me and my family, and I will never know why until I stand face-to-face with Him. And, if you think 911 was bad, stay tuned. I can assure you, God does exist and He is not finished!
As for me, I saw a very arrogant man on 60 Minutes Sunday night. My heart was racing with anger. There was no humility, no gratefulness (other than that for his own success which is justifiable), just self-imposed arrogance.I cried,and I’m sure God wept.
This was a supernatural intervention. Who do you think parted the Red Sea (Santa Claus); who spoke from the burning bush (Peter Rabbit); who worked through David when he killed Goliath (Sully)? Sad that so many of you don’t believe in these events.
We’ve seen bad (911) and some cursed God. We’ve seen good and some ignored God.
FYI – we still live in a relatively free nation. It is still okay to use the word GOD in a respectful, reverent manner and thank Him and praise Him (in most places). Praise be to God for working through Sully Sullenberger and his crew to bring the plane down safely and save the lives of 155 people!
P.S. Even Satan believes in God. I know there are people out there who don’t believe in either. God has already blessed Sully. He is alive. Some just never “get it”, and for those, we should pray.

Anna Templeton of NC 11:55AM February 09, 2009