Capt. Chesley B Sullenberger III Testifies — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00thank you chairman Costello ranking
2. 0:03members Micah and Petry and other
3. 0:06members of the committee it is my great
4. 0:09honor to appear before the aviation
5. 0:11subcommittee today I am proud of the
6. 0:13fact that I've have been involved in
7. 0:15aviation for the last 42 years during
8. 0:18that time I have served our country as a
9. 0:20US Air Force pilot served as an airline
10. 0:23pilots Association local air safety
11. 0:25committee chairman accident investigator
12. 0:28and National Technical Committee Member
13. 0:31I've amassed a total flying time of
14. 0:32almost 20,000 hours and flown
15. 0:34approximately 1 million passengers in my
16. 0:3829 years as a professional airline pilot
17. 0:40I have served as a Czech Airman and a
18. 0:42crew Resource Management course
19. 0:44developer and facilitator I'm also the
20. 0:47founder of safety reliability methods
21. 0:50Incorporated before I begin I must first
22. 0:52say that my heart goes out to all those
23. 0:55affected by the tragic loss of
24. 0:57Continental connection kogan Air flight
25. 0:5934 407 words cannot express my sadness
26. 1:03and grief at the loss of 50 lives the
27. 1:07families of those no longer with us are
28. 1:09in my thoughts and in my
29. 1:11heart the events of January 15th 2009
30. 1:14have been well documented and rather
31. 1:17than recite them now in great detail I
32. 1:19want only to reiterate to the
33. 1:21subcommittee that the successful outcome
34. 1:23was achieved by the actions of many
35. 1:26lives were saved due to the combination
36. 1:28of a very experienced well-trained train
37. 1:30crew first Officer Jeff Skyles and flat
38. 1:33ATT tenant Donna Dent Daren Welsh and
39. 1:36Sheila Dale all of whom acted in a
40. 1:38remarkable display of teamwork along
41. 1:41with expert air traffic controllers the
42. 1:43orderly cooperation of our cool-headed
43. 1:45passengers and the quick and determined
44. 1:48actions of the professional and
45. 1:49volunteer First Responders in New York
46. 1:52City the events of January 15th serve as
47. 1:55a reminder to us all of the daily
48. 1:57devotion to duty of the many thousands
49. 1:59of a ation professionals who keep air
50. 2:01travel safe and also as a reminder of
51. 2:05what is really at stake I like thousands
52. 2:08of my professional airline pilots know
53. 2:11that flying a large commercial airline
54. 2:13is a tremendous responsibility we
55. 2:16clearly understand that our passengers
56. 2:19put their lives in our hands we know
57. 2:22that we must always be prepared we must
58. 2:25always anticipate we must always be
59. 2:28vigilant expecting the unex expecting
60. 2:31the unexpected and having an effective
61. 2:34plan for dealing with it must be in the
62. 2:36very makeup of every professional
63. 2:38airline pilot I'm not only proud of my
64. 2:41crew I'm proud of my profession flying
65. 2:45has been my lifelong passion I count
66. 2:48myself fortunate to have spent my life
67. 2:50in the profession I love with colleagues
68. 2:52whom I respect and
69. 2:54admire but while I love my profession I
70. 2:58do not like what has happened to it I
71. 3:01would not be doing my duty if I not did
72. 3:03not report to you that I'm deeply
73. 3:06troubled about its
74. 3:08future Americans have been experiencing
75. 3:10huge economic difficulties in recent
76. 3:12months but Airline employees have been
77. 3:15experiencing those challenges and more
78. 3:18for8 years we've been hit by an economic
79. 3:22tsunami September 11th bankruptcies
80. 3:25fluctuating fuel prices mergers loss of
81. 3:28Pensions and revolving door management
82. 3:30teams who have used Airline employees as
83. 3:32an ATM have left the people who work for
84. 3:36the airlines in the United States with
85. 3:38extreme economic
86. 3:40difficulties it is an incredible
87. 3:42Testament to the collective character
88. 3:45professionalism and dedication of my
89. 3:47colleagues in the industry that they are
90. 3:49still able to function at such a high
91. 3:52level it is my personal experience that
92. 3:54my decision to remain in the profession
93. 3:56I love has come at a great financial
94. 3:59cost to me and to my
95. 4:01family my pay has been cut 40% my
96. 4:05pension like most Airline pensions has
97. 4:08been terminated and replaced by a pbgc
98. 4:11guarantee worth only pennies of the
99. 4:13dollar while airline pilots are B by no
100. 4:16means alone in our financial struggles I
101. 4:19want to acknowledge how difficult it is
102. 4:21for everyone right now it is important
103. 4:24to underscore that the terms of our
104. 4:26employment have changed dramatically
105. 4:28from when I began began my career
106. 4:31leading to an untenable financial
107. 4:33situation for pilots and their families
108. 4:36when my company offered pilots who had
109. 4:37been laid off the chance to return to
110. 4:39work 60%
111. 4:42refused
112. 4:44members I I attempt to speak accurately
113. 4:48and plainly so please do not think I
114. 4:50exaggerate when I say that I do not know
115. 4:52a single professional airline pilot who
116. 4:54wants his or her children to follow in
117. 4:56their
118. 4:57footsteps I am worried that the a
119. 4:59piloting profession will not be able to
120. 5:02continue to attract the best and the
121. 5:04brightest the current experience and
122. 5:06skills of our country's professional
123. 5:08airline pilots come from Investments
124. 5:10made years ago when we were able to
125. 5:13attract the ambitious talented people
126. 5:16who now frequently seek professional
127. 5:18careers
128. 5:20elsewhere that past investment was an
129. 5:22indispensable element in our commercial
130. 5:24Aviation
131. 5:26infrastructure vital to Safe air travel
132. 5:28and our country's economy in security if
133. 5:31we do not sufficiently value the airline
134. 5:33piloting profession and future Pilots
135. 5:36are less experienced and less skilled it
136. 5:39logically follows that we will see
137. 5:41negative consequences to the F flying
138. 5:43public and to our
139. 5:45country we Face remarkable challenges in
140. 5:48our industry in order to ensure Economic
141. 5:50Security and an uncompromising approach
142. 5:52to passenger Safety Management must work
143. 5:55with labor to bargain in good faith we
144. 5:58must find Collective Solutions that
145. 6:00address the huge economic issues we face
146. 6:02in recruiting and retaining the
147. 6:04experienced and highly skilled
148. 6:05professionals that the industry requires
149. 6:08and that passenger safety demands but
150. 6:11further we must develop and sustain an
151. 6:14environment in every Airline and
152. 6:16Aviation organization a culture that
153. 6:19balances the competing needs of
154. 6:21accountability and learning we must
155. 6:24create and maintain the trust that is
156. 6:27the absolutely essential element of a
157. 6:29successful and sustainable safety
158. 6:32reporting system to detect and correct
159. 6:34deficiencies before they lead to an
160. 6:36accident we must not let the economic
161. 6:39and financial pressures detract from a
162. 6:42focus on constantly improving our safety
163. 6:44measures and engaging in ongoing and
164. 6:46comprehensive training in aviation the
165. 6:50bottom line is that the single most
166. 6:52important piece of safety equipment is
167. 6:55an experienced well-trained
168. 6:57pilot despite the bad economic news
169. 7:00we've been experienced in recent times
170. 7:02despite the many challenges we face as a
171. 7:04country I have faith in America in our
172. 7:07people in our promise I have briefly
173. 7:10touched upon some major problems in my
174. 7:12industry today but I do not believe that
175. 7:14they are intractable should we decide to
176. 7:17work collectively to solve them we all
177. 7:19have roles to play in this effort
178. 7:21despite the economic turbulence hitting
179. 7:23our industry the airline companies must
180. 7:26refocus their attention and their
181. 7:27resources on the recruit recuitment and
182. 7:30retention of Highly experienced and
183. 7:31well-trained pilots and make that a
184. 7:34priority that is at least equal to their
185. 7:36financial bottom line Jeff and I and our
186. 7:39fellow Pilots will fly our planes and
187. 7:42continue to upgrade our education and
188. 7:44our skills while we attempt to provide
189. 7:46for our families Patrick and the other
190. 7:49challenged air traffic controllers will
191. 7:51continue to guide us safely through the
192. 7:53skies our passengers will spend their
193. 7:56hard-earned money to pay for their
194. 7:57travel and our flight attendants
195. 7:59mechanics ground Crews and
196. 8:01administration administrative Personnel
197. 8:03will deal with the thousands of constant
198. 8:05details and demands that keep our plan
199. 8:07safely in the air you can help us Mr
200. 8:11chairman honorable members to work
201. 8:13together across party lines and can
202. 8:15demand or legislate that Labor
203. 8:18Management safety experts Educators
204. 8:21technical experts and everyday Americans
205. 8:23join together to find solutions to these
206. 8:26problems we all honor our responsib
207. 8:29abilities in good faith and respect one
208. 8:32another we must keep the American
209. 8:35Commercial aviation industry safe and
210. 8:36affordable for passengers and
211. 8:38financially V viable for those who work
212. 8:40in the industry dayto day and for those
213. 8:44talented young men and women considering
214. 8:45what to do with their lives we must
215. 8:47restore The Narrative of a compelling
216. 8:50compelling career path in aviation with
217. 8:52sufficient economic resources to once
218. 8:55again make this Vision a reality thank
219. 8:58you for your kind attention and for the
220. 9:00opportunity to share my experiences with
221. 9:02this committee we um thank you Captain
222. 9:05solenberger and