Sully retires

[Meadbh]

YouTube - 'Miracle on the Hudson' Pilot Retires

Sully will earn more delivering speeches and consulting on airline safety than he ever could as a pilot. A well deserved ESR and a great way to go.

 

[Walt34]

It's always better to go out at the top of your game. Good for him!

 

[TromboneAl]

I hope this means that I can stop hearing about how great he is. He and Ohno and Vonn are all great, but I'm tired of hearing about them.

 

[Nords]

I hope this means that I can stop hearing about how great he is. He and Ohno and Vonn are all great, but I'm tired of hearing about them.

The Victory Tour is just getting started.

This is a great opportunity for him to point out that it might make sense to raise or eliminate the mandatory retirement age in favor of performance testing.

 

[REWahoo]

This is a great opportunity for him to point out that it might make sense to raise or eliminate the mandatory retirement age in favor of performance testing.

And why "early retirement" might be a bad thing?

 

[Westernskies]

I hope this means that I can stop hearing about how great he is. He and Ohno and Vonn are all great, but I'm tired of hearing about them.

Who would you rather hear about?

 

[Nords]

And why "early retirement" might be a bad thing?

Maybe in his case, although in that occupation it's nowhere near as bad as presuming that they're going to get paid a pension.

I bet companies like Flight Safety are begging him to sign up.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Sully could start with air traffic control safety:

YouTube - Kid Directs Planes at JFK Airport

 

[Trek]

He seems a little too respectable. I'm sure before long we'll here about inappropriate relationships with multiple fight attendants and an Oxycontin problem. He'll tell us how Tiger and Limbaugh are helping his family cope.

 

[Lazarus]

He did a great job flying that airliner. But I am tired of hearing that he is a hero.

 

[TromboneAl]

Who would you rather hear about?

Me!

 

[kumquat]

Hey everybody, T-A is alive and well!

Praise the Lord!!!

 

[Westernskies]

Me!

Land a plane in the river and we'll all hear all about you!

 

[ERD50]

Land a plane in the river and we'll all hear all about you!

I suspect that what T-Al is questioning is all the 'hero' talk. Was Sully really a 'hero'? I don't know all the details, but I question it. To me, a hero is someone who puts themselves (or anything they value) at risk for the benefit of others without regard for their own safety or well being.

Sully was also saving himself when he landed the plane. Would he had done anything differently if he was the only one on board?

Another thing that may have been discussed but I have not heard, is whether he did anything that the average pilot would not have done. I understand that an unconventional landing like this is much more difficulty than a standard one, but that is part of their training. If he did show extraordinary skill (and he may have), then that is a testament to his skill, but I don't think that alone makes him a hero.

Or turn it around - what if something about the timing of that landing made it even more difficult, and all the passengers died? Would Sully then be 'evil'?

I think the news media decided that 'hero' would sell well, and they ran with it. But he does come across as a really nice guy on TV, and I'd bet that he really is.

-ERD50

 

[ls99]

I would not call Sully a hero. I do admire his skills, nay, am jealous of them.

But he does work well under pressure. A well earned retirement for him.

I'm sure by now he is sick and tired of the inane media attention.

 

[TromboneAl]

Yes, ERD50 has expressed my feelings pretty well.

The Olympic winners are also not heroes (as here, and here, and here), they are skilled and competitive teenagers who, in some cases, have a mental defect that makes them give up their childhood so that they can practice 8+ hours per day.

End of cynicism.

 

[Nords]

... they are skilled and competitive teenagers who, in some cases, have a mental defect that makes them give up their childhood so that they can practice 8+ hours per day.

That's odd, I've heard that comment about people who like to spend their time planning for ER.

Perhaps sometimes an athlete's mental defect is a multi-generational culture.

Elana Meyers, an Olympic bobsledder who won bronze, didn't even come to the sport until after college. She's the daughter of Eddie Meyers, one of my USNA classmates and a retired NFL player. (I think he holds a few college running-back records.) Eddie's older brother is Charlie Meyers, another USNA grad and a tiny step too slow for the pros. Frankly her blog photo looks [-]meaner[/-] more competitive than either her father or her uncle ever did.

"My point to her has always been that, 'You're an athlete; you're always going to be an athlete,' " Eddie Meyers said. "We've talked about this all along. Athletes always find something to do. It doesn't matter what it is, you're going to want to compete."

Elana Meyers | Athletes | USA Bobsled & Skeleton Federation
The Official Blog of U.S. Olympic Bobsledder, Elana Meyers
From softball standout at George Washington to U.S. Olympic bobsledder, Elana Meyers makes the most of a change in course

I don't think any of them are worried about ER...

 

[Westernskies]

So, again.. who would you rather hear about? Who is worthy of media attention, in your opinion?

Personally, I don't understand the obsession with celebrity that seems to befall most Americans...our "celebrities" are treated like they are larger than life, and after a while they start to drink their own bathwater... I would much rather hear about our Olympic athletes instead of overpaid, pampered professionals who cheat on their spouses and their sport; I prefer coverage of real-life inspirational figures like Chesley Sullenberger over media creations like Donald Trump or OJ Simpson. Scott Brown's daughter singing the National Anthem is a better news clip than ad nauseum coverage of Lindsay Lohan's or Charlie Sheen's latest drugged or drunken antics. I'd like more coverage about about our future business and political leaders instead of the sexual peccadillos of whatever inane celebrity TMZ is stalking this week. I'm a lot more interested in hearing more about the real heroes- our troops putting their lives on the line for us- instead of glorifying gang-banger wanna-be rappers shooting each other over ho's, drugs, or song lyrics....and I would rather watch a NatGeo or Ken Burns documentary than an over-hyped media contrivance that last for months and produces a "winner" - singing, dancing, or dating... But that's just me.

 

[calmloki]

Well, there's this guy, who managed to take the marine route of going toward danger rather than running from it:

Suspected Colo. School Gunman Was Inside Building Hours Before Shooting - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

Or this guy, who did something more along the lines of Sully:

http://www.news.com.au/world/britis...save-20-soldiers/story-e6frfkyr-1225837442852

Seems like some people are just heroic by nature - I'm maybe more impressed by those who, aware of the danger and afraid, soldier on anyway when doing so moves them into the path of harm.

 

[FinanceDude]

I suspect that what T-Al is questioning is all the 'hero' talk. Was Sully really a 'hero'? I don't know all the details, but I question it. To me, a hero is someone who puts themselves (or anything they value) at risk for the benefit of others without regard for their own safety or well being.

Sully was also saving himself when he landed the plane. Would he had done anything differently if he was the only one on board?

Another thing that may have been discussed but I have not heard, is whether he did anything that the average pilot would not have done. I understand that an unconventional landing like this is much more difficulty than a standard one, but that is part of their training. If he did show extraordinary skill (and he may have), then that is a testament to his skill, but I don't think that alone makes him a hero.

Or turn it around - what if something about the timing of that landing made it even more difficult, and all the passengers died? Would Sully then be 'evil'?

BTW, is Jessica Lynch a hero? Based on the facts, it would be hard to put that label on her, IMHO.........

I think the news media decided that 'hero' would sell well, and they ran with it. But he does come across as a really nice guy on TV, and I'd bet that he really is.

-ERD50

Would you have called him a hero had he ATTEMPTED to land at the airport instead of the Hudson? If he did that, everyone would be dead, but he would look more like a hero.

FWIW, Sully didn't like the media glare after the event. he still maintains he was just doing his job. The guy who landed the plane in Iowa when he had NO hydraulic fluid may fit the hero title more, but in my mind Sully is as much as hero as anyone........

 

[Westernskies]

Well, there's this guy, who managed to take the marine route of going toward danger rather than running from it:

Suspected Colo. School Gunman Was Inside Building Hours Before Shooting - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

Or this guy, who did something more along the lines of Sully:

British helicopter pilot shot between the eyes but keeps flying to save 20 soldiers | News.com.au

Seems like some people are just heroic by nature - I'm maybe more impressed by those who, aware of the danger and afraid, soldier on anyway when doing so moves them into the path of harm.

Agreed, calmloki- two good examples of who we should be hearing about as true heroes.

Captain Sullenberger, by the way was most certainly "aware of the danger and afraid, soldier(ed) on anyway when doing so moves them into the path of harm"
He did not seek a heroes mantle that day, he was just a professional who had trained to do a job, exhibited the courage and the judgement to make a life-or-death decision and execute it with a high level of skill at a highly stressful and critical juncture, in the process saving the lives of a hundred people who entrusted him with their safety.

Why some feel the need to second-guess or belittle this accomplishment is beyond my comprehension.

 

[ERD50]

I think the following was your comment FD, but it looks like it got into my quote box:

BTW, is Jessica Lynch a hero? Based on the facts, it would be hard to put that label on her, IMHO.........

Which is prescient, because that was one example I was thinking of, but couldn't recall the name. Lynch was in a really tough spot. I could think of her as a hero for signing up for combat duty, but the actual circumstance that she found herself in - she was just fighting for her life at that moment. Different than risking her life to save someone else (again, just being there, you could say she was a hero - but that is heroic whether she finds herself under fire or not, IMO). IIRC, the guy that snuck her out of the hospital was putting himself in great danger - and he did that to save her. To me, that is heroic.

Would you have called him a hero had he ATTEMPTED to land at the airport instead of the Hudson? If he did that, everyone would be dead, but he would look more like a hero.

? I don't understand? Why would attempting to land at the airport make him appear to be more like a hero?

FWIW, Sully didn't like the media glare after the event. he still maintains he was just doing his job.

But that didn't stop the media. I'm not claiming that Sully encouraged any of this, I didn't get that impression.

The guy who landed the plane in Iowa when he had NO hydraulic fluid may fit the hero title more, but in my mind Sully is as much as hero as anyone........

Not familiar with the details - did he put himself in further risk to protect others, or did he do what he needed to save himself?

The 'let's roll' group on the hijacked plane heading towards DC were most probably heroes. They may have also been acting with a chance to save themselves, but it also appears that they realized that crashing the plane in a field would result in fewer lives lost than sitting back and letting them crash the plane in DC.

I looked at the dictionary def on my computer - they didn't stress the 'self-sacrifice' part of it, just 'courageous'. So I guess that is maybe just my interpretation. But I don't know that it is 'courageous' to act in self-defense, though it might be very scary. You do what you do to save yourself.

-ERD50

 

[Texas Proud]

Or turn it around - what if something about the timing of that landing made it even more difficult, and all the passengers died? Would Sully then be 'evil'?

Just because someone is not 'something' does not make them the opposite.. there is a big middle ground where most of of reside between 'hero' and 'evil'...

So, I might never be a hero, but I also am not evil...

 

[ERD50]

Agreed, calmloki- two good examples of who we should be hearing about as true heroes.

Also agree.

Captain Sullenberger, by the way was most certainly "aware of the danger and afraid, soldier(ed) on anyway when doing so moves them into the path of harm"

But that is what I'm questioning - did he really move himself into the 'path of harm', or was he trying to get *out* of the path of harm?

Why some feel the need to second-guess or belittle this accomplishment is beyond my comprehension.

Not sure if you are referring to my comments or not, but I don't mean to belittle his accomplishment at all. By all accounts, he performed his job admirably, and that is a great accomplishment in itself. But, if his actions were saving himself as well as saving others, that's just not the same kind of 'heroics' as a firefighter going into a burning building (moving into the path of harm) to save others. Sully found himself in the path of harm - he was in as much danger as his passengers from the get-go. He did an admirable job of getting everyone out of that danger.

-ERD50

 

[Westernskies]

Not sure if you are referring to my comments or not, but I don't mean to belittle his accomplishment at all. By all accounts, he performed his job admirably, and that is a great accomplishment in itself. But, if his actions were saving himself as well as saving others, that's just not the same kind of 'heroics' as a firefighter going into a burning building (moving into the path of harm) to save others. Sully found himself in the path of harm - he was in as much danger as his passengers from the get-go. He did an admirable job of getting everyone out of that danger.

-ERD50

Nothing directed at you specifically, but if I follow your logic, the only true hero is a dead hero? Since factoring in saving him or herself at the same time would negate any hero status-safe to assume that the firefighter in your example would also try to do this?