The Fly-Tanic

We know by now what happened in the Miracle on the Hudson. Here's a pilot's eye view, courtesy a British news agency and Microsoft Flight Simulator.

But there's two extra-special reasons to celebrate the successful controlled landing just offshore of Manhattan. First of all, as the blogger emptywheel notes, everybody involved in the emergency and rescue -- from the pilot and co-pilot to the New York ferryworkers and firefighters involved in the rescue -- are unionized workers.

Secondly, the captain of the stricken Airbus is 57 or 58 years old. Usually, airlines try to pension off guys as old as Sully, because pilots with less experience are cheaper. Sure, an airline might save a few thousand bucks if you let someone with experience go. And if the end result is a smoking hole in Midtown because of that ...