Consider the following real-life situation:
US Airways Flight 1549 that landed in the Hudson River, is an example of the importance of critical thinking in making a life or death decisions. Captain Sully Sullenberger was in command that fateful day – January 15, 2009. After leaving LaGuardia Airport and with only 100 seconds (and at an altitude of 2818 feet) into the flight, the plane encountered a flock of Canadian geese causing both engines to shut down. The Pilot saw the hazard and watched as the engine went from full throttle to zero revolutions. Passengers saw flames coming from the left engine and heard a colossal “bam.” The plane landed in the Hudson 108 seconds later. Captain Sully and his first officer (Jeff Skiles) used their thorough training, experience, and judgement to land the plane. The data that was provided to them (altitude, speed, direction) were critical (although without the engines had already failed). Without this information, the information from the flight controllers, the chances are that the plane would never have made a safe landing. In contrast to the actual landing, a number of simulations had indicated that there existed a possibility of making the airport, yet this information required the pilots to react immediately after the engines ceased operation, something almost humanly impossible.
It was a combination of experience, training, judgment and factual information that led Captain Sully into the decision he made. He chose that decision because it afforded him the best probability of success (landing the plane safely).
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