CBS: Sully Thanks His Rescuers
Bit by bit, or perhaps word by word, CBS is leaking out Hudson hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger's interview with Katie Couric. Airs Sunday with outtakes tomorrow night on "Evening News," then Sunday on the big "60."
Here's the latest, directly from the network: On Jan. 15, less than two minutes after taking off from LaGuardia Airport en route to Charlotte, N.C., the Airbus A320 struck a flock of large birds and lost power in both engines. An eerie silence and a disturbing smell followed. It was a moment like no other for the aircraft’s captain. “It was the worst sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling I’ve ever felt in my life,” Sullenberger tells Couric. “I knew immediately it was very bad.”
“Did you think, ‘How are we going to get ourselves out of this?’” Couric asks. Sullenberger replies, “No. My initial reaction was one of disbelief.”
And more...
Sullenberger then took control of the aircraft from First Officer Jeff Skiles and began to make the decisions and maneuvers that resulted in an emergency landing the world is still talking about. The moment the birds entered his screen, the noises they made on impact, the thoughts running through his head, the distance to reach an airport, the river below – he recalls all of them for Couric in an interview that relives one of the major events in aviation history.
Crewmembers Skiles, flight attendants Donna Dent, Sheila Dail and Doreen Welsh all relay their experiences in their first group interview. Skiles conveys his perspective while doing his duties in the cockpit and the attendants provide a breathtaking account of what they heard, saw and felt in the aircraft’s cabin with 150 passengers who were told to “brace for impact” as the jetliner angled down toward the Hudson River, relying only on gravity and Sullenberger’s skills to prevent their deaths.
Finally, and memorably, this: Sully tells Couric what he thinks of the people who came to their rescue:
"Thank you seems totally inadequate. I have a debt of gratitude that I fear I may never be able to repay.”