A heroic pilot and crew

Re “Two wings and a prayer,” Jan. 16

On the upside Thursday, we saw brains in action as a talented and skillful captain of an airplane guided the lives of 155 people, including his own, into a freezing river, and he did it with class.

On the downside, our country and state got performances from a president and a governor who admittedly do not have answers to governance questions.

California did not get a message on how we should proceed. The nation got lame excuses for poor performance.

Millions of people were waiting for a plan from each elected official.

The people on Flight 1549 were in the right place for leadership.

Jim Moreno

Huntington Beach

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I was struck by the fact in your story that Chesley B. Sullenberger III is a certified glider pilot. Glider experience would be valuable to every pilot aloft; the FAA should think about making it the foundation of pilot training.

Cabell Smith

Pacific Palisades

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Why are these birds flying into our planes so frequently?

The Times points out that in 69% of such attacks, no damage occurs, perhaps indicating that the animals are becoming stouter and more resilient, surviving to strike again.

Peter Yates

Culver City

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Sullenberger is a testimonial to why pilots should not be required to retire at age 60. When the chips are down, I would want the pilot with thousands of hours of flight time at the controls.

Sidney Cohen

Los Angeles

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As a retired airline pilot and a frequent flier, I get frustrated when I see passengers ignoring the flight attendant giving the safety briefing.

Hey folks, these professional flight attendants are there to teach you what to do if a situation like the New York crash occurs.

Most of those passengers didn’t appear to take the life jackets with them when they exited the aircraft. They should have known to reach below their seats, remove and put on the jacket, and then, outside the aircraft, inflate it.

Charlie Brown

San Antonio

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We are all thankful that the passengers made it out safely with no life-threatening injuries. Certainly this was in large part because of the actions of Capt. Sullenberger.

However, he was not all by himself in this endeavor. There are generally two pilots on the flight deck of any commercial airliner. There likely was a first officer sitting next to the pilot who was extremely busy running emergency checklists.

And there was a team of flight attendants in the cabin responsible for the safe evacuation of the passengers.

It’s time someone publicly recognized the efforts and heroism of the entire crew onboard that Airbus.

Lauren Corley

Chatsworth