I like to use the present to reflect on the past. A vastly under-used and under-appreciated approach to history is to speculate on how an event from your life and mine connects back to the past. Let's use US Air Flight 1549 to explain. As you know, it's one of my most popular modules and sessions. The fact that 155 people are aboard an airplane is unique to the 21st century and part of the 20th … [Read more...]
Flight 1549: Sullenberger’s Regret
June 10, 2011 by
One of the most provocative moments in my session on Flight 1549 and your leadership is the question about Sullenberger's interaction with passengers during the ill-fated flight. He only speaks to them once while they are airborne. He states, "Brace for impact." In hindsight, Sullenberger has admitted that he regrets his overall silence with the passengers. I've researched the flight very … [Read more...]
Flight 1549 and the Meaning of Two Little Words
October 20, 2010 by
"My aircraft," said Chesley Sullenberger at a crucial moment in the drama that was the emergency landing of U.S. Air Flight 1549 in January 2009. These two little words have more meaning than you might think. First of all, they were mandated. In an emergency situation aviation regulations and protocols require the pilot and co-pilot to announce this statement to each other. It's the captain's … [Read more...]
