Question: You’ve seen Sully. How accurate is the film, would you say?
Angus Duncan, Glasgow
Answer: The Clint Eastwood-directed, Tom Hanks-starring movie of the “Miracle on the Hudson” plane crash opens on December 2.
I have been lucky enough to see a preview of the film about the Airbus A320 that ditched in the Hudson River in New York after both engines were knocked out.
I am not a pilot, so I am not qualified to pass judgement on the cockpit and cabin scenes – though I have read the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on the incident and the conversations on the flight deck seem to adhere closely to the events on US Airways flight 1549.
Where, it appears, the film diverges significantly from reality is in setting up a conflict between NTSB investigators and the pilots. The implication is that the NTSB sought to “prove” that the plane could safely have landed back at La Guardia airport.
But the conclusion of the report is that outstanding airmanship, among other factors, enabled all 155 people on board to escape with their lives.
The Independent