It’s been a great week for picture agency Reuters. First the attribution of Jim Young’s Obama photograph. And now their photographer Gary Hershorn took this picture which made the front page of both The New York Times and The New York Post in what is now being called ”The Miracle on The Hudson”.
The miraculous tale of survival came when pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III made an astonishing controlled crash landing into the frigid Hudson River after a flock of birds knocked out both engines 15 minutes after takeoff. By landing the plane at exactly the perfect angle and shutting off all the valves that would let water in, he kept the plane intact and afloat and all 155 people on board were rescued with the most severe injury being a broken leg.
In this picture, airline passengers wait on the wings of the plane to board one of the dozens of boats that sped to the crash within minutes, further saving the passengers from hypothermia in the sub-freezing temperature. As my wife commented, "It looks like a sick puppy being taken care of by its mother!"