"Miracle" on the Hudson

Okay, so yesterday a US Air jet crashed into the Hudson river after apparently flying into a flock of birds that took out both engines. Birds are actually pretty dangerous to airplanes. A significant minority of military plane crashes have been blamed on run-ins with birds. Since the pilot did such a great job of landing the plane in the water and no one was seriously hurt, he's being called a hero and the whole event labeled a "miracle."

Miracles aside, I think the pilot did a great job and definitely is to be commended. But does anyone notice anything funny about the picture I've posted here, and all the pictures of this crash?

I'll tell you what I notice. I notice that this picture looks absolutely nothing like the drawings of water landings on the safety cards in the seatbacks of any planes I've ever flown on. When you read the safety card for the plane, it almost always shows the plane serenely sitting on top of the water with the inflatable exits extended and apparently propping the plane up. Passengers in the drawings are smiling as they slide down what looks to be a pretty fun little ride. The flight attendant stands by the opening, cheerfully assisting passengers down the slide and into little inflatable life boats.

That's not what I saw in the Hudson yesterday. I saw no inflatable life boats and one inflatable slide. I did not see friendly flight attendants helping gleeful passengers calmly exit the plane. I saw a plane nearly fully submerged. I saw people in frigid water and on stretchers.

Again, the flight crew did a great job and what we saw on TV yesterday was exactly what we'd expect to see. But it highlights the sheer stupidity of the in-flight safety cards. The plane yesterday was barely off the ground and still basically sank when it landed in the water. Hitting the water from a couple thousand feet in the air is like landing on concrete. So both from low altitude and higher altitude, I think the safety cards are wildly optimistic about your chances. Then again, I suppose it might not make people too comfortable if the drawings depicted what really happens.