Are you so desperate for heroes in your website administrative duties ...
LOL. You think I am the website administrator here? Yet another mistaken assumption on your part.
You admitted to not having any experience in anything aviation. Thus, your comments, as per your own warning, are not credible. I am just honoring your wishes.
Negative. You're the CNYAviation.com website administrator. The facts back my comments and, as already advised by fair disclaimer, for any interested reader to consult the facts on record and decide themselves. Like the following:
In 2007, a string of A321 worldwide operators reported compressor stalls by “highly deteriorated HPCs” in their GE 56-5B turbofans to GE Aviation (GEA), FAA and EASA.
http://tinyurl.com/dayvv4 The engines on Cactus 1549.
As the directive explains, GEA first reacted to the stall reports by devising engine software 5QB update to reduce the occurrence and severity of HPC deterioration on GE-powered A321s. Then the stall incidents, after the 5QB update, reoccurred. 5QB was a dud. So GEA issued a maintenance directive to all 56-5B-powered operators to ground test their units and replace any that produced EGT over 80 Celsius with a brand new 56-5B. This means GEA wasn’t able to find a workable fix besides full replacement of a used deteriorated random ticking time bomb with a new random bomb should EGT (safely parked on the ground with no such luxury in midair) exceed 80C. Nothing novel here, once a design is flawed it’s next to impossible to reengineer once in production. Then an Air France A321 with GE 56-5Bs compressor stalled out of Tunis in December and the European Aviation Safety Agency and GEA released an “Emergency Airworthiness Directive” (2008-0227-E) on Dec. 23, 2008. The original GEA directive, essentially, now EASA stamped with “Emergency” affixed.
So that there is no confusion, the GE 56-5B high pressure compressor was rendered “Emergency” status by its designer/manufacturer.
The same Cactus 1549 aircraft with different crew double compressor stalled over Newark climbing up to cruise in Jan. 2009 three days prior to the Hudson regatta. 1549’s HPCs that stalled over the Bronx were the same units that stalled over Newark. USAir didn’t replace these units, the only option by GEA’s terse emergency directive, both obviously and unmistakably deteriorated contrary to NTSB’s story of dud temperature sensor (Sorry, NTSB, a bum sensor doesn’t cause loud BANG with cabin electrical loss), with brand new 56-5Bs in the 72 hour layover. USAir put the plane and deteriorated HPCs back in service as is. Three days later 1549 took off from La Guardia, both engines stalled at 2800’ and the pilot glided down into the Hudson, and out waddled the bird story.
The GE 56-5B line and Cactus 1549’s service record 100% undermine the bird story. Leaving only the matter of deconstructing the extensively edited audio tapes plus transcripts, NTSB clown routine and media disinformation to explain how the fleece job was pulled off.
GE Aviation sequestered 1549’s engines as soon as detached and/or salvaged and shipped them back to its Ohio headquarters, concealing the culprit HPCs. Not long after, the alleged story of “Branta Canadensis” “feathers” recovered from 1549’s engines emerged, as if any feather would loiter after a 140-150nm extended rinse cycle in the Hudson already riddled with innumerable detached waterfowl feathers. USAir sequestered the two pilots in seclusion and imposed a media blackout. Then the spin doctors set to work transforming crew error which, if true that hit birds, would be monumental neglect, into “Hero pilot,” snubbing the flight attendants and ferry boat crews to focus on and idolize P-in-C, Chesley Sullenberger. Then the spin went from the sublime to the ridiculous with a toweled off Chesley taking a bow to great applause at the Superbowl. No doubt each Superbowl fan and viewer personally received and read the GEA/EASA emergency directive, fully cognizant of the 56-5B disastrous service record, 1549’s double compressor stall over Newark, and magically rejuvenated temperature sensor which just happens to be backed up to redundancy and would never shutdown the engine even if all failed.
Mark Hood’s story of penultimate to disembark the aircraft next to Chesley, even offering the P-in-C “After you, Sir!” is utterly impractical for several reasons:
First: would mean the entire attendant staff, not just 1st class, and co-pilot were derelict negligent in leaving a passenger behind. They were not. Evacuation was letter perfect except for some trying to grab their carryon.
Second: Hood was outside that aircraft, drenched as all were in ankle- to shin-high frigid Hudson water or soaked life raft awaiting ferry rescue, for too long to be anywhere close in the timeline of second last.
Third: No one in 1st class, including seat mate or Sullenberger, has corroborated his story.
Many passengers were immediately interviewed by local media right after docking, still soaking wet, each ecstatic to be alive. Mark Hood, a few days later, was audibly aloof, tense, uncertain and nervous on a radio show that he contacted. Interesting.
What would be eating at Hood? He has all the reason in the world to be happy, relieved, confident, loquacious, except wasn’t. Wound tight as a drum and taciturn at the onset and only loosened by the interviewer’s calming tactics.
People fly 1st class, paying big bucks, to sleep in a quiet, dark cabin in a big comfortable seat with most on their way to a business meeting. Even most in coach(cattle) are trying to sleep as also on the way to a meeting. Even in cattle few windows are ever open during day flight in clear visibility. Attendants will even order passengers and sometimes boldly reach over to shut cattle blinds on even north side seats on a westbound flight so passengers can rest in reasonable darkness.
Hood will have it believed that his left side 1st class window blind, facing the mid-day western sun on a 360 heading, beating in on every big buck paying 1st class passenger trying to sleep, was fully open at 2800’ just in time to see a “blur” outside the window fly past at 200kt, then heard thuds.
Where are the pockmarks on the fuselage and leading edges supporting that claim? There aren’t any. 1549 floating down the Hudson, as the pictures show, was pristine.
Even if the window really were open, somehow escaping the vigilant notice and wrath of all other 1st class passengers paying big bucks to sleep with blaring sun in their face a la Hood looked after by stickler attendants, is only one step in a much bigger battle. Even if one were intently staring right out the window not blinking, all they’d see, if lucky, would be an instant fleeting unidentifiable shadow silhouetted by the blinding western sun. Hood, chatting at the time with seat mate to his right (his words) in big, wide seats that force one to turn their head right to converse, somehow able to stare right at the scorching western sun without squinting.
There’s a word for this and it can’t be printed here. Hood didn’t see anything out that window even if open, didn’t hear any thuds, and no way in hell was the second last off. He was aloof and nervous because was reeling off howling impossibilities knowing these to be impossible, adding Marine for credible austerity, yet repeatedly confusing port for starboard, suggestive perhaps of not a true Marine. Could be, but if were, would be most unique.
While only speculation, Hood’s performance, while blundering, is a great opportunity to disseminate and hype the bird story for USAir and GEA’s continued customer relations benefit by pointing the blame at a next to impossible detectible blur, translating into Canada Geese, which NY TRACON and EGF4718 never saw nor anyone onboard either or heard, and the flight crew placed on the hero pedestal for conduct that would get them fired or sternly reprimanded by even Azerbaijan [Disast]Air.
Analysis of audio tape and transcription inconsistencies to follow.