Flight 1549 & 19-Year Old Ferry Captain Brittany Catanzaro

[DeSwiss]

Brittany Catanzaro, First Female Ferry Captain for New York Waterway and Hero to US Airways Flight 1549

Finding Dulcinea
January 16, 2009
by Sarah Amandolare


Brittany Catanzaro, First Female
Ferry Captain for New York Waterway
and Hero to US Airways Flight 1549

Brittany Catanzaro grew up boating in the summertime with her father on the Long Island Sound, and eventually turned her love of the water into a profession. The 19-year-old Catanzaro is the youngest ever and first female ferry captain for New York Waterway, safely transporting daily commuters from Weehawken and Hoboken, N.J. to New York City. “I love being on the water. It’s like my first nature. It’s kind of home to me,” Catanzaro told The New York Times in an interview last December.

As if her trailblazing position weren’t enough, the young captain is now being hailed as a hero. On January 15, 2009, Catanzaro was in the midst of a shift when she noticed an airplane in the Hudson River. According to NorthJersey.com, Catanzaro was heading in the opposite direction, but “immediately … turned around and steered toward” what turned out to be US Airways Flight 1549.

Bound for Charlotte, North Carolina, from New York’s La Guardia Airport, the plane had become disabled shortly after takeoff when it ran across a flock of geese and lost two engines. Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III, a former Air Force pilot, and copilot Jeff Skiles have become national heroes for guiding the plane into a safe water landing in the Hudson River off the shore of midtown Manhattan. With her crew’s guidance, Catanzaro steered her boat toward the plane’s wings, and wielded the watercraft expertly as a current pulled the plane downriver. The ferry’s crew helped passengers of Flight 1549 onto the boat and out of harm’s way.

“They were the ones who were down there pulling people out of the water. When I saw the people hugging my crew, that's one of the moments that really sticks with me,” Catanzaro told NorthJersey.com. Web site www.wowOwow.com reported that Catanzaro and her crew on New York Waterway ferry Thomas Kean successfully “pulled 24 passengers from the flight to safety.” Catanzaro has been awash in media attention since the plane crash, appearing on CNN’s "Larry King Live" to discuss the event.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/profiles/2008-women-firsts/brittany-catanzaro.html">LINK

- You go girl!!!!
==============================================================================
DeSwiss


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"Prayer is just a way of telling god that his divine plan for
you is flawed -- and shockingly stingy" ~ Betty Bowers

[burrowowl]

1. Good Job GIRL!

WOW only 19!

[tbyg52]

2. K&R!

:kick:

[malaise]

3. She'll never forget this

Bravo!! Nineteen - damn!

[PDJane]

4. Bravo is right!

Give the girl a raise!

[RamboLiberal]

5. Wow - only 19 - I thought when I saw her on Larry King

she was older - amazing. I'd ride her ferry any day! NY Times has some great video that shows the ditching and then the passengers evacuating, then the ferries coming up to the wreck. Amazing how fast they got there. I believe from what she said on Larry King Brittany Catanzaro's ferry is the 2nd one to come in - on the left wing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/nyregion/19blackbox.html?hp

[Vektor]

6. Girls kick ass!

Thanks to Brittany, her crew, and the crew of flight 1549!

Nice to see so many people working together to address the situation and save so many lives.

[I Have A Dream]

7. I'm glad that she's being given the kudos that she deserves.

:)

[tilsammans]

8. You go, girl!!!

:yourock:

[DeSwiss]

9. Kick!

:kick:

[Strong Atheist]

10. K&R. A hero.

We can all be heroes too, in quiet ways:

Be kind to each other.

Pet a cat.

Enjoy life.

Fight for the rights of others.

Speak out against wrongs.

Take stands.



... oh and don't forget to pet the cat.

[Swede]

11. Nice job Brittany.

K&R

[Patiod]

12. Love stories of girl heroes

It's still a world where many of the heroes we see are men - like the guys on the flight who made sure the mom with a baby in her arms got rescued first.

So it's nice to see a woman among the first responders.

[nannah]

13. good inspiration and reminder of how incredibly competent teens

can be.

as an aside: did you know the atheist tool box has a google warning for malware when you click on it?

[Spazito]

14. That is awesome!

Thanks for posting this, it is much appreciated!

Recommended.

[roguevalley]

15. everyone did good that day. I love them all.