The USAirways pilot who put the plane down in the Hudson River saved it when he lowered the plane's nose to maintain airspeed and keep it from stalling and falling like a rock. Hesitate for even seconds, and he'd never have made it to the river.
At a time when airplane designers are contemplating passenger airplanes without human crews, policy makers had better consider how quick action by this flight crew saved 155 people.
A computer-piloted or "UAV" jetliner would not likely be able to make such a judgment.
