On a bright, 20-degree afternoon in January, US Airways Flight 1549 barreled down New York La Guardia Airport’s main runway, loaded with 155 passengers and crew, headed skywards for Charlotte, NC. Everything was normal until First Officer Jeff Skiles spotted a formation of Canada geese on the right side of the aircraft, seemingly headed directly towards them. Skiles, who was flying the plane manually, was relieved when the nose of the plane rose above the geese, but that relief was short-lived. A few seconds later, he heard numerous thunks as the birds crashed into the engines of the Airbus A320. Both engines immediately failed. Captain Chesley Sullenberger took over flying the plane and tipped the nose down to retain airspeed. Within sixty seconds, the pilots made the decision that returning to LaGuardia or diverting to Teterboro or Newark Airports was just too risky—they’d have to fly over densely populated areas and there was no guarantee that they’d make it. So, surrounded by nothing but skyscrapers and neighborhoods, they decided to head to the only open, flat space available—the Hudson River. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Jeff Skiles details the lessons, training, and scenarios that led to the “Miracle on the Hudson” and what businesses can take away from it with a great sense of humor and natural storytelling ability.

Crisis Management at 3,200 Feet. Following the protocol for dual-engine failure, Skiles tried to restart the engines. But the manuals are written for failures that happen at 30,000 feet, and the only training pilots receive for water landings tells them vaguely to “try to land on the backside of a swell.” Skiles and Sullenberger were truly in uncharted territory. As the passengers and flight attendants braced for impact, the plane descended 3,200 feet toward the river. Eye-witnesses in the surrounding buildings said it looked like a perfect three-point landing. Inside the cockpit, Skiles noticed that the surreal sensation of landing between the high-rises of New York City on one side and the bluffs of New Jersey on the other.

There are a few landmark cases in aviation history that change the way pilots do their jobs and the way the public perceives the often taken-for-granted ease of getting on a plane and flying around the world. News of plane crashes and airline disasters usually hits the public hard. Those same accidents become the training tools and examples that help pilots avoid repeating those mistakes.