Safety recommendations unfulfilled 7 years after Flight 1549
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than seven years after an airline captain saved 155 lives by ditching his crippled airliner in the Hudson River, now the basis of a new movie, most of the safety recommendations stemming from the accident haven't been carried out.
The movie "Sully," which opened in theaters last week, celebrates how veteran pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, played by Tom Hanks, along with his co-pilot, flight attendants, air traffic controllers, ferry boat operators and first responders did their jobs with professionalism and competence, averting a potential tragedy.
Recommendations that got an "unacceptable" response deal with pilot training, directions for pilots facing the loss of power in both engines, equipping planes with life rafts and vests and making it easier for passengers to use them, among other issues.
The wind chill was 2 degrees and the water temperature was 41 degrees, raising the risk of "cold shock," a condition in which people lose the use of their arms and legs, usually drowning within 5 minutes.
Despite some changes by the FAA, the board says it still takes more than a few seconds to retrieve vests, which is all the time passengers will take to get them when exiting a plane filling with water.
Because Flight 1549's descent was faster than the plane is designed to handle for a ditching, the underside of the aircraft was damaged when it hit the water.