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Tag: Chesley Sullenberger

  • Chesley Sullenberger Forever Linked to Twitter

    It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since US Airway pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger safely landed a jet carrying 155 passengers onto the Hudson River. The emergency crash landing was needed after a flock of geese blew out both engines. It’s also hard to believe that just one single captivating event helped to launch Twitter as one the most popular sites in internet history and a multi-billion dollar publicly traded company.

    Can we even imagine a world without “Twitter reaction,” or “celebrity Twitter feuds?” Five years ago, Twitter was just a run of the mill social media site. Today we know it as the be all end all of connecting with internet friends and having the amazing opportunity to communicate with everyone from Beyonce to Howard Stern.

    It appears that a single tweet posted by Janis Krums helped to spark the popularity of Twitter. It was tweeted seconds after Sullenberger made his emergency crash landing. Krums took the picture on his iPhone from a commuter ferry that was racing to the airplane in an attempt to rescue the plane’s passengers and crew.

    Krums then tweeted about what happened along with a picture, now known as a Twitpic, to his 170 followers. The iconic image he captured is what many of us think of when we hear the term, “The Miracle on the Hudson.” Krums’ post is considered one of the most famous tweets ever.

    Krums was interviewed by MSNBC just 32 minutes after posting the tweet. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey spoke of how significant the moment was to launching his company, “Suddenly the world turned its attention because we were the source of news—and it wasn’t us, it was this person in the boat using the service, which is even more amazing.”‘

    In a recent interview with CNN, Krums who is currently the CEO/co-founder of Opprtunity.com, was asked about how the Twitpic directly linked to his success in business. He responded, “It’s been a great story when I talk to people about technology. I’ve gotten some incredible opportunities to speak at such places as Columbia Journalism School and the Poynter Institute. I’m involved with technology, so I actually became an adviser to Rawporter.com. Their mission is to protect, promote and sell photos and videos from everyday people.”

    Krums sent out a tweet today commemorating the fifth anniversary of the miraculous landing.

    Image via Twitter

  • Chesley Sullenberger’s Heroics Helped Bring New Lives Into The World

    Capt. Chesley Sullenberger is celebrating the 5th anniversary of the ‘Hudson Miracle” on Wednesday. In 2009 he saved 155 people by bringing US Airways Flight 1549 to an astounding landing on the Hudson River. The crash was caused after a flock of geese crammed the engines of the plane.

    As a matter of fact, Capt. Chesley not only saved lives, but also created an opportunity for new lives to be born. He celebrates the 5th anniversary along with 10 babies born after the incident to passengers of the fateful flight.

    The retired pilot, who has formed strong bonds with the survivors of the crash, got the opportunity to meet five of those kids Tuesday in a gratifying reunion on Katie Couric’s show, “Katie”.

    “These are special, special kids…kids that maybe wouldn’t have been born otherwise. It makes it all very real,” Sullenberger said.

    Also noteworthy is that Sullenberg’s heroics not only saved lives but mended broken relationships as well. Karin Rooney who was on the plane with her boyfriend said the two were having problems but the shaking experience brought them closer together. The two married the following year and they now have an 8-month old baby who also appeared on the show.

    Sullenberger is now a best-selling author and has received praise from presidents Barack Obama and George Bush. The 62-year-old Hudson hero became an advocate for air safety and joined the Journal of Patient Safety to help in bringing attention to the estimated 200,000 deaths caused each year as a result of medical errors.

    The “Hudson Hero” confessed that he went through “the most harrowing three minutes” of his life which made him suffer horrific thoughts and insomnia. He retired in 2010.

    http://youtu.be/ixUbdeXCp0M

    Image via YouTube