Sully: Miracle on the Hudson

On January 15, 2009, the fateful U.S. Airways Flight 1549 suffered catastrophic damage shortly after take-off, losing both engines. Only three minutes into the flight, and at an approximate altitude of eight hundred fifty-three metres, the experienced pilot, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, and co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, had to make a split-second decision: should they try to land the crippled Airbus A320 on the LaGuardia Airport or Teterboro? Instead, they attempted an emergency landing on the freezing waters of the Hudson River, saving the lives of all one hundred fifty-five passengers and crew. However, even though Sully was hailed a hero, the National Transportation Safety Board thought otherwise, as sophisticated computer simulations suggested that Sully could have landed the plane elsewhere. Was Sully, indeed, a hero, or a scapegoat?