Jan 22 2009
Hudson River Plane Landing Survivor on The Bonnie Hunt Show
For an afternoon TV highlight we had Dave Sanderson, survivor of US Airways Flight #1549, on The Bonnie Hunt Show. It was terrifying listening to him recount the experience being on the plane as the engine near his window burst into flames. He remained calm at first, but when the pilot told the passengers to “Brace for impact,” Sanderson thought it was all over for them. It was positively chilling, imagining yourself in that same situation. But despite the terror of those moments, Sanderson was one of the last people off of the plane, hanging back in order to help the other passengers exit the plane. He said he’d been raised to consider others before himself, and to do the right thing.
It may just be inexperience as a host, but Bonnie Hunt tends to interrupt her guests too much, but I think in this case she was feeling overwhelmed. Sanderson was an interesting personality, on the one hand very noble and devoutly religious, but on the other he came across as very cool and almost detached. Bonnie kept trying to get him to express something emotional, asking if he held anyone’s hand as they crashed or if he thought of his family. He said that he’d gotten into the “correct” crash position and didn’t want to be tied to anyone. He also said he put his wallet on himself so his body could be identified. These are not the sorts of things you typically hear in survivor stories and Bonnie was stunned. I’m wondering if he has a military background, because his responses seemed to be on that formal, military order.
In any case, he expressed extreme gratitude to the pilot and all the boats that came immediately to the scene to help. He said that everyone had a hero that day, because so many people stepped up to help, including two men on a ferry boat that hauled him out of the water and to safety. I’m glad that Bonnie Hunt had Dave Sanderson as a guest, to share his story and provide a role model and positive example for all those watching. You can see pics and get more information at The Bonnie Hunt Show website .
