Hero of Hudson River Landing Chides Deceased Pilot: “Dying During Flight The Worst Thing a Pilot Can Do”

photo-one-sullenberger1WASHINGTON — Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger, the hero of US Airways’ dramatic Hudson River landing, chided the pilot of Continental Flight 61, who died of an apparent heart attack while flying from Brussels to Newark. 

“Dying during flight is the absolute worst thing a pilot can do.  A good pilot waits until he has the plane safely on the ground to drop dead.  A real hero would have waited.  I would have waited.”

Continental Airlines took no position on the propriety of dying while piloting a flight but said it was extending a 10% discount to the family of the deceased pilot for providing the service of transporting a deceased loved one.  

“Our normal charge would have been $522.76, so just take 10 percent off of that — I could do the math but I don’t want to ruin the challenge for you,” said Continental spokesman Bradleys Roadhouse. Roadhouse explained that “the moment the dead guy keeled over, he became cargo, and we charge for it.”

The only clue passengers received during the flight that there was a problem was an announcement calling for a doctor to come to the cabin.  Dr. Hadley V. Baxendale, a cardiologist, said he was reluctant to answer the call.  “I didn’t go up at first because I thought it might be a set-up by the ‘To Catch a Predator’ television program to ambush me. Finally my wife convinced me that there were no cameras on board, so I went up. 

“I listened to the pilot’s heart and didn’t hear anything so I pronounced him dead,” Dr. Baxendale chuckled. “Truth be told, I couldn’t hear anything over those engines, so who knows?”

Jun 19