Dearly Beloved

Check out the latest issue of People magazine. Our friends Karin and Chris are on page 76. The US Airways flight 1549 survivors have been mighty busy since the miracle on the Hudson- and I had the pleasure of performing their wedding on New Year's Eve! Congratulations to the newlyweds!

More "Hudson Miracle"

Before you read this great interview with our friend, I'm very excited to tell you that Part 3 of Disney's Animal Kingdom: A True-Life Adventure will be posted on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22. Don't miss it!

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More on our friends and their US Airways Miracle- from Lockheed Martin's internal newspaper.

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Miracle On The Hudson’ Touches Lockheed Martin Family

Having recently started his first fulltime job after college, IS&GS-Defense hardware engineer Chris Rooney was enjoying a break. He had taken a week off from his Battle Management and Communications job in Colorado Springs, Colo., to spend time in New York City with friends.
That relaxing week came to a jolting end on January 15.

Rooney and girlfriend Karin Hill were among the 155 passengers and crew aboard US Airways Flight 1549, which landed safely on the Hudson River after a bird strike severely damaged the aircraft’s engines shortly after takeoff.

"As the more experienced flyer, I remember explaining to Karin about what normally happens on takeoff in order to calm her anxiety of flying," Rooney recalled of their pre-flight activities. "I find that aspect a little ironic now because three minutes into the flight, I definitely ran out of explanations as to why the aircraft was obviously maneuvering off course and losing altitude. But I do remember telling her that we must be heading back to the airport."

What we all know now but Rooney didn’t know at that time was that the crippled airplane could not return to the airport—nor could it land at another airport. Capt. Chesley Sullenberger decided the only option was to land on the Hudson River.

"The jolt that violently shook the airplane, plus a quick look out the window, made me realize that we were headed toward the water," Rooney said. "I had heard of water landings before, and the airplane’s approach seemed in line with what I’d read. But my technical mind didn’t have much time to think any further when the captain told everyone to ‘brace for impact’."

After he heard those chilling words, Rooney said, the landing was extremely hard. "Karin and I said a prayer for a safe outcome. Then we were immediately thrown forward when we hit the water. But it was not nearly as bad as I had thought it would be for as fast as we were going."

The adrenaline was flowing as Rooney and Hill followed other passengers up the aisle to the emergency exits in the front of the plane. Seated in row 18, they didn’t recall hearing any directions from the flight staff or hearing anyone in the back of the plane, which they later learned was filling up with water. Describing the scene as surreal, he said that "everyone seemed to be calm and took time to help one another to get out of the plane.

Pictured: Rooney and Hill cling to the exit doorsill of Flight 1549 (pictured above in front of the first "S" of the US Airways logo. Hill is wearing a light colored shirt and Rooney a dark shirt).

"Many people were able to get into rafts or were standing on the wing. The right engine was still attached to the wing when we approached the exit," he said. "It was weighing down that side—so much so that we were in the water. We ended up balancing on the exit doorsill with water up to our waists at times. This raised the biggest question in our minds — how long will we have to be in the near-freezing water?"

Rooney recalled a family of four that he and Karin assisted into the safety rafts. They also passed an 18-month-old child along those waiting on the wing to help the mother as she got into a raft. The rescue teams were on the scene within minutes of the landing, beginning with the ferry boats that headed directly toward the downed plane. The sight of the boats brought comfort to most of the passengers who were stranded on the wings or were in the water. Within 15 to 20 minutes, each passenger had been plucked out of the icy waters and loaded onto the ferries that quickly headed to shore and the waiting ambulances.

"Our ferry went to the New Jersey side," Rooney said. "We decided to get checked out at the hospital since my hands and lower body were extremely cold and we wanted to ensure that once the adrenaline wore off, we wouldn’t have any lingering injuries. Once we were cleared to leave, the US Air team was amazing in getting us lodging, clothing, shoes, food — the necessities for our overnight stay."

Rooney’s father, a commercial airline pilot, had flown to New York from Hawaii when he learned the plane had gone down. After a quick call to Rooney’s mom, his dad was on his way to help his son.

"That evening, seeing him and our New York friends gave us an amazing, comforting feeling," Rooney recalled. "It was as if all the stress of the day dissolved when I saw him. It was just a relief to know that we survived and were here to tell the story. Karin and I joke now that the next time we get on an airplane, we should read the emergency card. We both wished we had grabbed the yellow life vests under our seats.

"We are truly grateful for being alive, for having supportive family and friends, and for having a strong faith in God. We’d like to express our sincerest gratitude to the flight captain, to whom we all owe so much, the US Air 1549 crew, US Air personnel, NYC ferry workers, and all the emergency responders on the scene."

For most, the picture of passengers standing on the wings of an airplane as it slowly sinks into the icy Hudson River is hard to forget. With the recent crashes of a single-engine plane in Butte, Mont., and Continental flight 3407 in Buffalo, N.Y., Rooney said he turns to his faith for grappling with questions about surviving the "The Miracle on the Hudson."

Rooney said when it comes to flying, especially the takeoff and landing, he and Hill still have anxiety. Plus, he said, sleeping doesn’t come easy. "I think I had some post-traumatic stress. But I know that I must be on Earth for a reason. "I find some comfort in knowing we have a purpose in life — I still don’t know what it is — but I’m grateful to God for giving us this opportunity to live out that purpose."

More on the Miracle

From today's Denver Post- the article about our friends' son and his girlfriend.

(In this photo taken by a ferry passenger, airline passengers leave the US Airways jet that safely ditched Thursday in the frigid waters of the Hudson River in New York. (AP, Janis Krums)

Karin Hill loves children.
So when US Airways Flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River on Thursday afternoon, the 24-year-old Boulderite did what came naturally.
She asked another passenger on board — who had a baby and a toddler — if she could help by carrying the baby.
As they left the sinking plane, Hill carried the baby and then held the child as she stood on the wing awaiting rescue.
"She loves kids, so that seemed perfect for her to do," said her mother, Cathy Hill of Louisville.

Karin Hill and her boyfriend, Chris Rooney of Parker, had just spent a week in New York City on what Cathy Hill described as "a fun visit."

"She got some cheap tickets and stayed with friends. They were just back there sightseeing and having fun," said Cathy Hill.
They were flying to Charlotte, N.C., where they planned to change planes and fly back to Denver.

After the plane hit a flock of birds, pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III came over the intercom and told them to "prepare for impact," Karin Hill told her mother.

"She put her head in her lap. But her boyfriend kept looking out the window. His father is a commercial pilot, and he kept looking to see what was going on," Cathy Hill said laughing.
"Karin didn't know they were landing over water. She just thought, because they took that turn, that they were just coming back to the airport to land at the airport," Cathy Hill said. "Karin said she didn't know that but just kept praying that God would just land them smooth and easy. She said, 'I know God was watching out for us, Mom. I was just praying he would land us.' "

As they headed for the landing in the Hudson River, Karin Hill told her mother things were quiet in the cabin. "She said that everything was just really calm and cool. The pilot just said 'prepare for impact.' She didn't feel he was panicked in his voice or anything. And I am sure that kept them all calm."

Both Karin and her boyfriend were among the last people off the wing. By the time they left, the water had risen to her waist, said Cathy Hill.

"I asked her, 'Did you go check for hypothermia?' And she said, 'No, I didn't.' Once they got her over — by ferry — to a restaurant, apparently they got her out of her own clothes and got her into the chef's clothes," said Cathy Hill.

Karin phoned her father within 40 minutes of the ditching, but he didn't pick up because he didn't recognize the phone number.
Later, when he checked the message, he immediately left work, picked up his wife and they went home and turned on the TV.
On their home answering machine was another call from Karin.
"She said she and her boyfriend were fine and she would call as soon as she could again," said Cathy Hill. Since then, they've talked five or six times.

"She is just a little fireball, just optimistic and bubbly," said Cathy Hill of her daughter. "She was in good spirits. She was shaken up obviously and probably in shock to some degree, but she just kept saying, 'I'm OK.' "

Cathy Hill said Karin's two sisters and brother — ranging in age from 17 to 25 — are just "thrilled" their sister is safe.
"They will be home tomorrow morning, and we are all going to meet up at the airport and go over to his (the boyfriend's) home. They said we could bring all our friends — that 'we'll tell the story once,' " said Cathy Hill.

"Our whole family really attributes this to the grace of God. He protected her and the plane and everyone. We all feel that way. We are just really grateful," said Cathy Hill.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com

US Airways Plane Crash and a Miracle

The US Airways plane crash hit home in a new way: Our friend's son and girlfriend were on the flight. Thankfully, although we have not heard from them, our friends- and all other passengers have survived. Prayer is good, so please pray for all the folks on flight 1549 from LaGuardia.