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A Lesson From the
“Miracle on the Hudson”
by Tom Clark
When life suddenly
throws us a big challenge, what do we do?
How can we
determine what is the best option available?
Taking a look at a
famous “almost disaster” can help.
Jan. 15, 2009, seemed like a normal
winter day.
US Airways Flight 1549 lifted off from
New York City’s LaGuardia Airport at 3:25 p.m.
The captain, Chesley Sullenberger, was
well-seasoned with 42 years of experience as a commercial pilot.
Jeff Skiles, the first officer, was
also a skilled and experienced pilot.
The aircraft was carrying 150
passengers and had a flight crew of five.
It was a 10-year-old plane that had
logged 16,299 flights and had been airborne for 25,241 hours.
Records showed all maintenance had been
done on time, and it was in proper flying condition.
At 3:27, when the aircraft had reached
an altitude of 2,900 feet and was still climbing at 230 miles per hour, a flock
of Canada geese suddenly appeared.
There was no chance for the pilots to
avoid them.
Each goose weighed about 18 pounds, and
because of their size and number, the birds sucked in severely damaged both
engines.
The 150,000-pound aircraft, which
required 40,000 pounds of engine thrust, instantly lost all power.
Lacking the airspeed and altitude that
would have given them maneuverability and time, the pilots had to quickly
decide what to do.
Viable options were almost nonexistent.
They were still over New York City and had no open fields, only the crowded
city, in sight.
The pilots quickly realized that it
would be impossible to get to an airport and land safely.
They were going down way too fast. It
left them only one option, and it wasn’t a good one — land the plane on the
Hudson River.
Three minutes and 29 seconds after the
birds hit, the plane was floating on top of the cold waters of the Hudson.
That happened 10 years ago today.
Behind the “Miracle
on the Hudson”
This event was
nicknamed the “Miracle on the Hudson.”
That description fit
and has stuck because Captain Sullenberger managed to safely land the aircraft
in the river and, with the help of his flight crew, safely evacuate all 155
persons on board.
Not a single life was
lost!
Captain Chesley
Sullenberger
This dramatic story
gives Christians something to consider.
How do we react when
we are faced with sudden and traumatic circumstances that require us to make a
quick decision?
How do we know if we
are making the right decision?
When the flight
recorders, or black boxes, as they’re sometimes called, were later reviewed,
the data revealed that the plane had touched down at exactly the proper angle —
almost absolutely level.
If one wing had hit
before the other, the plane would have cartwheeled.
If the aircraft had
been angled too far up or down, the results could have been disastrous.
Remember — the pilots
had no help from the engines, so they had only one shot at getting it right.
Captain
Sullenberger’s background and training made all the difference.
He grew up in Texas
and fell in love with flying from his youth.
As soon as he could,
he started flying lessons and practiced as often as possible to gain
experience.
He took his formal
training seriously, carefully learning the flight characteristics of the
various aircraft he had the opportunity to pilot.
Flying wasn’t just
something he had memorized from a book. He had studied and practiced the skills
of piloting until it became second nature.
When the birds hit, there
was no time to pull out a copy of Advanced Avionics Handbook for
how to calculate an angle of approach or how to guide an aircraft not designed
to land on water, safely onto a river.
He had to rely on his
experience and what was already in his head.
When life throws us
a “bird strike”
How often does life seem to throw us an
unexpected “bird strike” out of nowhere?
When that happens, we are suddenly
faced with making a decision we may not have contemplated before. Here are some
examples:
· Your
supervisor unexpectedly pressures you to tell a lie to cover up something he or
she did wrong.
· An
“opportunity” appears that would benefit you financially, but requires you to
steal, cheat or bend the rules “just a little.”
· You
are at a social gathering and unexpectedly drugs are brought out, and you are
being pushed to try them.
· A
boyfriend or girlfriend begins to pressure you for a level of physical intimacy
beyond where you know it should be.
Just as Captain Sullenberger was
well-studied in the principles of flight, we need to have the principles of
God’s Word embedded in our minds, so we can call on it immediately when we need
to make a decision.
What do you do at these times? You
don’t have time to spend a day or two praying, fasting and
meditating on
the issue to get strength and wisdom from God.
You don’t have time to call a mentor for advice. You’re right in the
middle of the situation, and you have to react immediately.
Just like with Flight 1549, if you have
the wrong “angle of approach,” the impact could be disastrous for you.
First, we should remember we always
have instant access to our Father through prayer, and hopefully we would all
have the presence of mind to send up an urgent, instant silent prayer for
discernment, wisdom and deliverance!
God does hear the distressed cries for
help from His people (Psalms
18:6; 34:15).
But our Creator has also given us a
resource rich with instruction and examples of how to live and react under
nearly every situation we may face in life.
That resource is older, more
substantial and has been tested far more than any aviation text. It is the
Bible, the living Word of God.
Just as Captain Sullenberger was
well-studied in the principles of flight, we need to have the principles of
God’s Word embedded in our minds, so we can call on it immediately when we need
to make a decision.
Do something illegal or unethical on
the job? No!
Even with the pressure of possible loss
of a job, the Scriptures demand integrity and honesty. Our decision should
be quick and decisive.
Get involved with something improper?
No matter how great the “rewards” might seem to be, we must turn away.
There is an old saying that “every man
has his price.”
That saying should not apply to a true
Christian. A man or woman of righteous character is well able to say “No!”
Pressure to get involved in drugs,
alcohol or improper sexual activity?
Once again, we should have the boundary
between right and wrong internalized and have the character to immediately make
the right decision.
Make the right
decision
On Jan. 15, 2009, the crew of US
Airways Flight 1549 faced a crisis they’d never faced before.
They had less than 3½ minutes to make
the hard decisions necessary to save as many lives as possible.
In that short period of time, they
called on all their years of training and experience and made the right
decision — saving over a hundred lives.
Throughout our lives, we will each be
faced with sudden and difficult decisions. We also may only have a moment to
analyze the situation and make a decision on how to react.
Making the wrong decision could be
disastrous, perhaps even spiritually fatal.
.
.
Prepare
now to make the right decision by learning the lesson of the “Miracle of the
Hudson.”
Tom
Clark
married his lovely wife, Mary, in 1985. They have three grown children and four
grandchildren. Tom was ordained a minister in 1989 and has served congregations
in Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota and North Dakota. He
currently pastors the Bentonville, Van Buren and Mena, Arkansas, congregations
of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association.
https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/blog/a-lesson-from-the-miracle-on-the-hudson/
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