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The Federal Aviation Administration cooperated in CBS' build-up to Sunday's 60 Minutes exclusive. That will be when anchor Katie Couric lands the first newsmaker interview with Chesley Sullenberger, the acclaimed USAIrways pilot who safely crashed his Airbus jetliner into the icy waters of the Hudson River last month. The FAA added to Couric's publicity hype by releasing its air traffic control audiotapes of the pilot's emergency: "We hit birds. We have lost thrust in both engines." Controler Patrick Harten offered the pilot a return runway at LaGuardia Airport in Queens and then an emergency landing at suburban Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. "We cannot do it. We are going to be in the Hudson." Both CBS and NBC led with the audiotapes, which were the Story of the Day. ABC kicked off with a health alert about Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The Supreme Court Justice has undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer.

There was very little actual reporting that the networks' trio of transportation correspondents had to do with the USAirways 1549 audio. It mostly spoke for itself. ABC had Lisa Stark do the introductions; CBS used Bob Orr; NBC Tom Costello. CBS' Orr persisted in calling the incident The Miracle on the Hudson even though it has been well established by now that there was nothing supernatural about the way the jetliner was ditched.

ABC anchor Charles Gibson recounted how his newsroom was "all huddled around the speakers listening" when the tapes first came in. NBC anchor Brian Williams announced that what his viewers was about to hear "may be the definition of cool under fire…incredible stuff." CBS anchor Katie Couric played a snippet of her 60 Minutes exchange with pilot Sullenberger. "Did you think: 'How are we going to get ourselves out of this?'" "No," he replied. "My initial reaction was one of disbelief."

ABC followed up with in-house aviation consultant John Nance. He explained to anchor Gibson that both pilot and controller are trained to be that calm in an emergency: "You have got to get information across in a very precise way and very rapidly and there is no room for even asking What did you say again?"


Andrew Tyndall 2/7/09 11:41:17 pm

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