It wasn't a bloody miracle.

Following the crash of the US Airways A320 into the Hudson river, the word "miracle" has been bandied about a lot by survivors and the press alike.

To use the word "miracle" in a situation like this just denigrates and belittles the pilot and crew. The pilot was trained for birdstrikes and emergency landings. Granted not on water, but he was a veteran pilot doing his job and doing it well. It's why airlines train pilots in simulators like those I help to build.

The crew were trained to get people off in the event of an emergency and they did so quickly and skillfully.

It was the job of the aircraft to protect its occupants as best it could, which it sort of did, not to mention that it stayed afloat, and it's detachable slide / life rafts worked like a charm.

It makes me proud to know that something I am involved in making helped train the pilot to save the lives of all those people. There was no "miracle" about it, much less anything to do with anyone's chosen deity or religious beliefs.

For the bible-bashers and religious zealots out there, answer me this : if your God was looking out for these passengers, why did he put a flock of geese in front of the aircraft in the first place?

Wait - don't tell me - "to test their faith" ?

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