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| QUICK THINKING: The pilots of USAirways Flight 1549 had only a few seconds to decide to land in the Hudson River. It was a determination that ultimately saved the lives of everyone on board. Photo © Mike Kentz. |
When McKesson Corp. (San Francisco) employee Beth McHugh boarded USAirways Flight 1549 at LaGuardia, bound for Charlotte, she was expecting a routine jet trip back home. On that fateful Jan. 15 afternoon, she didn't know that less than 10 minutes after takeoff, she'd be in a race against time to save her life after the plane was ditched into a frigid Hudson river.
Once in the air, the aircraft experienced a simultaneous bird strike, knocking out power in both engines. The pilot, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, was forced to glide the plane into the river. His successful maneuvering saved the lives of 150 passengers and the five crew members on board.
It's a story that has captured the hearts, minds and imaginations of people across the world. "People are hungry for good news and really want to hear about a miracle," explained McHugh. She works for a division of McKesson called McKesson Provider Technologies.
"If my customers are implementing Horizon Lab, I do the enterprise level project management for that. I work for the program management office (PMO) as customer program executive, and we oversee all things to do with McKesson implementations at a customer site where we are assigned. Our usual customer who needs the PMO level is implementing multiple products, or multiple facilities or both," she said.
In this ADVANCE exclusive podcast, Editor Matthew T. Patton spoke with McHugh, who recalled the frightening details of the flight, and recounted the valiant efforts of the USAirways crew and the ferry boat personnel who came to her rescue.
Right Click Here to download the mp3 file, McHugh shares frightening flight details.
Right Click Here to download the mp3 file, McHugh describes life after the incident.
Matthew T. Patton (mpatton@advanceweb.com) is editor of ADVANCE.
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