Survivors of the "Hudson's Miracle" Still Count on Their Blessings



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(NEW YORK) – It's been 10 years, but Tripp Harris does not remember the cold January day during which he cheated on US Airways flight 1549.

The shock after the collision between the plane and a group of geese and engines stopped a few moments after taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York. The smoke filling the cabin. The electric odor, burning. The panic of people around him. On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger told everyone to prepare for the impact while he was heading the Airbus A320-214 into the icy waters of the river Hudson.

He knows the happy ending of the "miracle on the Hudson": the 155 people on board survived.

Harris never forgot what that day had taught him about what really mattered : his wife and his son at the age of 2.

"All I could think of was what I missed, "said 47-year-old Harris from Charlotte, NC, where the flight was heading in." It has fundamentally changed my priorities. "

Since then, he has colored his life. decided to spend more time with his family and to live adventures and experiences that he might otherwise have delayed.

That day, "made me better father, better husband", has said Harris.

This is a common chorus among the survivors., how this day e led to great changes of life and small daily choices, and feel the joy more easily. But some also speak of the anxiety that can still arise each time they fly.

"I have a lot more gratitude for my life," said Sheila Dail, 67, one of the flight attendants. After taking a good part of the year, she returned to work in the heavens and helped create a peer support group for her airline's air traffic controllers. "I have three grandchildren whom I might never have seen."

Flight 1549 took off from LaGuardia on Tuesday, with Sullenberger's co-pilot flying, three flight attendants and 150 passengers on board. It was cold, about 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 7 degrees Celsius), but the sky was clear.

"What a view of the Hudson today," Sullenberger told Skiles, according to the National Transportation Safety Board crash report.

Less than a minute later, a plane and birds struck at 3,000 feet. Both engines stopped. Sullenberger took control and told the air traffic controllers that he could not return to LaGuardia. His choices were a small airport for private planes in New Jersey – perhaps too far away – or the river. Sullenberger chose water.

At 3:31 pm, the plane crashed, remained sort of in one piece and began to float quickly to the harbor. Passengers climbed on the wings and on inflatable rafts as suburban bins rushed to the rescue.

A flight attendant and four passengers were injured, but everyone was fine. at the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, where survivors plan to meet on Tuesday to mark the tenth anniversary of their birthday, including a toast at the exact moment of the accident.

"Although I do not know I would do it again, it certainly clarified the priorities of my life and the importance of my family," said Pam Seagle, 52, of Wilmington, North Carolina who was in flight.

Afterwards, she made some big decisions for life.

She and her family moved from Charlotte to a new residence on Wilmington Beach. While still working for Bank of America, her employer in 2009, she moved to a division that promotes women's economic empowerment. She spent time with her family, including a long-awaited break with her sister. She held those moments with her family even more dear after the unexpected death of her sister, several months later, in 2009.

This January day, 10 years ago "m's put somehow on the way I am now, and where I am very happy and happy, "she said.

It took a while for Steve's Steve Charlotte, 54, to overcome the trauma Experienced by this experience

"This first year was difficult. You are scattered. You can not concentrate. You're impatient, he says. "There is this meager place between life and death … and we were in a very lean place, and then you are fired."

When he takes the plane, he looks for emergency exits and can not sleep so easily in his seat.

"I'll be on a plane and I'll fall asleep or something like that, and a bump will happen and all of a sudden, it comes back, and you just feel that electric scare, that overwhelming feeling that strikes you.

But he says that he feels more relaxed and that his frustrations are less.

"I realize that little things have to be appreciated, that mundane things are what make up your life. He said, "And these are things you will miss if you want to get rid of them."

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