I was listening to Prairie Home Companion on NPR Saturday and was surprised and
pleased to hear a tune penned by Garrison Keillor the day after Flight 1549 set down
in the Hudson. All of the crew are now recognized and immortalized in song! Good on ya Garrison!
Taken from the PHC webpage where you can hear the song at the top of the page in the
"Audio Highlights" section....
http://prairiehome.publicradio.org
Pilot song
Saturday, January 17, 2009
His name was Chesley B. Sullenberger the 3rd
Which for a pilot is somewhat absurd
A pilot's name should be Buzz, Bill or Chuck
But a name like Chesley may mean good luck
He was flying an Airbus out of New York
When at 3000 feet the engine lost torque
His voice was calm as he sent out the word
Chesley B. Sullenberger the 3rd
No time to maneuver or head for New Jersey
The force of gravity shows us no mercy
And there was the river stretching for miles
So he said to his copilot Jeffrey Skiles.
"We'll put it down here, don't look at the maps,
Bring the landing gear up, extend the flaps."
And the flight attendants prepared themselves
Donna Dent, Sheila Dail, and Doreen Welsh.
The city spread out below at his feet
And he landed at the foot of 48th Street
On the Hudson River he landed the bird
Chesley B. Sullenberger the 3rd
The plane did not sink, it lay on the river
And all aboard were safely delivered
It could have been tragic but no deaths occurred
Thanks to Chesley B. Sullenberger the 3rd
The next time you fly, look in the cockpit
Where the captain and first officer calmly sit
Ready to take you up and onward
Like Chesley B. Sullenberger the 3rd
Take you across the country for miles
With officers like Jeffrey Skiles.
And attendants who in crisis don't fail
Donna Dent, Doreen Welsh, and Sheila Dail.
A retired flight attendants thank you and a reply from Keillor explaining his motivations.....
Post to the Host:
I am a retired flight attendant — 41 years with Delta Airlines. Tonight your tribute to the entire crew of the USAirways flight who landed in the Hudson River was wonderful. Thank you for recognizing the ENTIRE crew!! The captain was, of course, a hero, but he was not alone — his first officer had to have been working as hard as he was — You are the first person I have heard mention his name (much less, write a song about it!)
As a flight attendant, I do appreciate the tribute to those ladies, but the real heroism was in the cockpit!
Thanks to the five crew members, and to you for your tribute.
Sarah N.
Williamson, GA
--
"I wrote the song (lyrics | listen | download mp3) on the plane from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Louisville last Friday because I was taken with the name of the pilot, Chessley B. Sullenberger III, which struck me as a cartoonish name you'd attach to a guy in a top hat and spats. The Third at the end of his name opens the door to lots of rhymes — bird, occurred, onward, and so forth — and so I dashed off the song, which also celebrates his great presence of mind in a pinch, not that it was Heroic but that it was sort of Typical and what pilots are trained for. Right? So I rehearsed the song Friday with the band and noticed that I'd singled out one guy and there were others involved and the first officer Jeffrey Skiles also had a rhymeable name and so did the flight attendants, Donna Dent, Sheila Dail, and Doreen Welsh. So there you are. I was unprepared, though, for the huge reaction of the audience in the Palace Theater in Louisville. They just LOVED that song from the first line. Not a great song but it touched a deep chord, and there's the secret of songwriting, ma'am. Just be in the right place at the right time and any fool can write a song. But it takes years of training and mental discipline to be able to set a powerless Airbus down on the Hudson. And then he was the last to leave the plane. He walked through hip-deep water all the way to the tail to make sure everybody was out. To us passengers, that seems so utterly classy. Wow. I'm flying all week this week, Richmond, Vero Beach, D.C., Ohio, Seattle, Duluth, and I look at you airline people a little differently now."
Garrison Keillor
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) and everyone who could responded perfectly. Fantastic piloting, fantastic response (ferryboat operators were the first responders where before 9/11 they would have gone in circles aroudn te plane worried about insurance 
