Amanda Ripley Author of The Unthinkable

I’ve heard from a few people today who are wondering what to make of the child survivor of the Yemeni plane crash in the Indian Ocean.

It’s not yet clear how old the child is (early reports said the child was 5--and male; more recent reports point to a 14-year-old girl), and This child is now said to be a 14-year-old girl, but we know little else at the moment. Still, it seems like a good excuse to talk about how children fare in plane crashes in general.

The answer: not well,…

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When I first heard the news of Turkish Airlines flight 1951 crashing upon landing at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, I couldn’t help but think: “Another one?” Indeed, the crash of Flight 1951 makes for three plane accidents in an incredibly short period.  With the onslaught of survivor stories and the revolving cycle of disturbing images, it’s hard not to let it go to straight to your amygdala.

But it’s important to remember the silver lining in all of this.  Two out of three of these accidents had few or no fatalities.  Continue Reading »

It’s no secret that the crash of Flight 3407 may have been weather related.  Recordings reveal that Capt. Marvin Renslow and copilot Rebecca Shaw both commented on the plane’s ice buildup, thus activating the plane’s de-icing system. According to USA Today, the NTSB warned the FAA that icing prevention rules aren’t always adequate:

In response, the FAA mandated that newly designed aircraft receive improved testing in icing conditions. But the agency has not required that existing models receive the new testing.

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Why does Capt. Sully seem so bummed out?

“One of the hardest things for me to do was to forgive myself for having not done something better, something…more complete,” he told 60 Minutes. “The first few nights were the worst, when the what-ifs started. The second guessings. Just replaying it--flashbacks. Were we aware of everything we could have been aware of? Did we make the best choices?”

It’s a reminder that trauma is insidious. It can happen with or without death, with or without loss. The brain works by identifying patterns, and it’s an elegant system.…

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A few more thoughts on the details emerging from the crash of US Air 1549 into the Hudson. I was struck by Capt. Sully’s comment about the way he felt when he realized he had lost both engines. He said this to Katie Couric the other day:

“The physiological reaction I had to this was strong, and I had to force myself to use my training and force calm on the situation.”

He didn’t go into detail about the physical symptoms, but we know from research into the brain in high stress environments what he probably experienced:

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I was stunned to see Beverly looking back at me when I logged onto CNN today. There she was, a portrait in a list of the dead from the Colgan Air crash near Buffalo, NY, last night.  It turns out that Beverly Eckert, one of the most fearless of the 9/11 widows, and the woman I think about whenever I think about the victims of 9/11, was on the plane, among the 50 people killed in the still mysterious crash.

I met Beverly less than a year after 9/11. I was working on a story for Time Magazine…

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Last night, Capt. “Sully” explained to Katie Couric what it felt like to ditch US Airways 1549 in the Hudson River. It was remarkable TV, especially since 60 Minutes also talked to the crew (who have gotten far too little attention so far) and shot footage of a strange and joyful reunion between the crew and the passengers.

I was, first of all, struck by the familiarity of Capt. Sully’s all-business description of his initial…

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In the dead-tree version of Time this week, I have a piece on the crash of Flight 1549--and why it would never go down that way if it were a scene on the show 24. 

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