Don't Let Them Be Forgotten

[redheadedfemme]

With all the accolades deservedly given Captain "Sully" Sullenberger in the "Hudson splashdown," the role of the flight attendants has been overlooked.

This article addresses that.

Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger has garnered most of the headlines for safely piloting a crippled jet onto the Hudson River, but investigators and aviation workers say there is an unsung group that also deserves praise: the three flight attendants on board.

Sheila Dail, 57, Doreen Welsh, 58, and Donna Dent, 51 — with a combined 92 years of experience on the job — were the ones who opened emergency exits, ordered passengers to don life jackets and directed them out of the plane. All 150 passengers escaped.

I think these women are the true heroes of the entire incident, because they prevented 150 people from panicking. Had that happened, there's a good chance some of the passengers would have been injured, and possibly not everyone would have gotten off the plane before it sank.

This is not to take one iota of credit away from Capt. Sullenberger. His setting that plane down without tearing it apart gave everyone a chance to survive. But the flight attendants' training and calm authority enabled everyone on board to take advantage of that opportunity instead of squandering it.

So let's give credit where credit is due.