Trading miracles for teamwork

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Joel Kinnunen
  • 920th Rescue Wing
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Recently, a commercial airliner crashed into New York's Hudson River. There were 150 passengers and 5 crewmembers on board, yet there was not a single fatality or serious injury. Some called it a miracle. 

Although incredible, I wouldn't call it a miracle. In my opinion, calling it a miracle takes credit away from the skill and heroics of the crew. Instead, I would attribute this amazing result to leadership, teamwork, and training. Maybe a little luck, too. But without the first three, even luck would have fallen short on this day. 

Incidents like these, unfortunate as they are, always provide useful information to aircrews on how to make flying safer. But I think there are a few things we can all learn from this incident whether we are aircrew members or not, in regards to the benefits of realistic, situational training, acting quickly when given orders and remaining calm and confident during a crisis. 

Let's start with the captain. One minute after takeoff, he reported a double bird strike. Six minutes later, the aircraft was floating in the Hudson. In spite of what must have been an incredibly stressful situation, the captain remained confident and competent. He communicated the necessary plan to the crew and passengers without overdoing it or micromanaging, and he had to trust his team to get the necessary tasks accomplished. That's really all he had time to do. 

The crew did what was asked of them. The copilot tried to get the engines restarted. It was futile, but he tried and didn't question the command. The flight attendants prepared the passengers for the crash-landing and evacuated the plane safely and efficiently. Some reports say they didn't even know they were landing in water. But they knew enough to get the job done. They simply rolled with the punches and reacted to the situation exactly as their training dictated. 

Those crewmembers no doubt rehearsed ditching and crash-landing scenarios again and again during mandatory training. Then, before every flight, the crew trains the passengers what to do in emergency situations. I'm sure there were times in training when that crew thought they were wasting their time. They probably practiced those tasks so many times they could do them in their sleep. 

This reminds me of a story of a World War II machine-gunner who was trained to tap the shoulder of the soldier next to him whenever he needed the soldier to relieve him. The gunner ended up getting shot in the head, killing him instantly. But the repetitious maneuver of tapping his buddy was so ingrained in him that, after he was shot, he reached out and tapped his buddy's shoulder one last time before his body hit the ground. 

Training works. It's a time-tested method of ensuring the procedures will be correctly executed when the stress is high, and it can greatly increase your chances of surviving in extreme situations. Lives were saved due to that crew. Every team member had a role to play, and every one of them executed just as they were trained to. 

If you ask me, I'd rather have a crew with the right leadership, teamwork and training instead of counting on a miracle in a situation like this. 

Though I wouldn't mind a bit of luck as well. 

(Colonel Kinnunen is commander of the wing's pararescue squadron here.)