Falling Into Place

Well, nearly two weeks after the incident, I am still reading reports related to the Miracle on the Hudson - the fact that all passengers and crew aboard a U.S. Airways jet survived a crash landing into the Hudson River. Everything went wrong and everything went right. After the plane took off, it it a flock of geese (or ducks). This happens quite often. However, these collisions usually do not result in damage so severe that it disables on engine, let alone two engines. Well, that is where things went wrong.

From that point on, everything went right/things were in the right place. There were two experienced pilots, a well-trained crew and passengers that did not panic. The pilots did everything right. They ruled out an attempt to land at another airport due to the likelihoood that they might not make it and crash into a populated area. They made the decision to land in the river. Fortunately, the river was very calm (another thing that went right). There were boats and ferries in the river. They happened to be located in areas of the river that made it possible for the jet to have a clear space to land and for the boats to quickly make it to the plane.

The crew of the plane kept everyone calm. All of the passengers knew what they had to do to minimize the possibility of injuries when the plane hit the water. Those passengers near exeits knew exactly what to do. Reports indicated all of the exits were opened within seconds after the plan hit the water. The boat captains knew what to do to get to the plane and the people on the boats, including many ferry passengers, knew what to do to get the people safely away from the plane and/or out of the icy water.

Everything went right to ensure that everyone on the plane survived. Throughout the past several days, an analogy kept coming to me. Think of how everything has to go right in order for a baby to be born anywhere in the world. Thinks have to go right during the fertilization process that leads to conception. Things have to go right with the health of the mother and the child. Adequate health care has to be available. Somebody that knows what they are doing has to be in the position to deliver the baby. The baby needs proper attention and care as soon as he or she enters the world. So many things could go wrong during this complex process - and they often do. However, so many babies make it because everything falls into place - just like the Miracle on the Hudson.