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May 20, 2012

Lunch with Heroes: Wabash Valley Red Cross honors three people, hears from survivor of ‘Miracle on the Hudson’

Lisa Trigg The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — When Dave Sanderson found himself falling into the Hudson River along with 154 other people, he joined an elite group of survivors with an amazing story to tell.

Sanderson was on United Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15, 2009, when minutes into the flight, the Airbus 8320 hit a flock of birds and lost both engines.

The amazing minutes following that collision engaged national and international media attention for weeks, making celebrities of the pilot and flight crew, as well as passengers such as Sanderson.

“I never thought I’d need the Red Cross, but in 14 hours in one day, I had three Red Cross experiences,” Sanderson told a group assembled Friday for a Heroes Luncheon sponsored by the Wabash Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Three Hero awards were presented during the event, but it was Sanderson’s repeated praise for the hosting organization, as well as the slide show of the 2009 incident, that held the audiences’ attention.

Sanderson credits the Red Cross and the power of faith for getting him through the Hudson River landing. He also credits Capt. Chesley Sullenberger with getting the falling plane over the George Washington Bridge so it could land in the Hudson.

As the plane descended, Sanderson said, he prayed, called his wife and left a message, then prayed again before shoving his wallet into his pants so his body could be identified.

The landing of the plane in the water was harsh, tearing away the underside of the plane and breaking all of the seat backs in the passenger cabin.

After realizing they were floating on the water, the passengers quickly made it out of the plane onto its wings, where emergency vehicles were quickly approaching.

Sanderson is credited with waiting inside the plane to make sure that everyone exited before he, too, tried to climb onto the right wing of the plane. The water was freezing cold, and he was up to his waist in the frigid fluid by the time he tried to get out of the plane.

“Having someone rescue you from a plane crash in ice cold water in about two minutes is a miracle,” he said. Not only was the water cold, but jet fuel was making the wing surface slick, causing a hazard for the passengers and rescuers.

When an assisting tug boat bumped the floating plane, Sanderson said, he pictured a scene from the motion picture epic “Titanic” when the big ship turned on its end and sank into the seat. The shuddering impact with the tug boat caused Sanderson to jump out of the plane into the water to swim to a life boat, and the North Carolina resident said he was glad that his parents had sent him to Red Cross swim lessons as a child.

He got pulled onto a ferry, but he was then so cold he could barely think, he said. A rescuer handed him a phone to call his family and tell them he was okay. And then he was taken to a hospital in New Jersey.

Emergency medical technicians and a Red Cross representative met him and helped his transition to emergency care.

Only two groups touched everyone involved in the crash landing that day, he said — the ferrys who rescued them, and the Red Cross volunteers who assisted everyone. That is the reason he now speaks to Red Cross groups across the country, he said.

With media members clambering to talk to survivors, Sanderson said he volunteered to give a statement as the last person who exited the plane. A Red Cross volunteer made sure he had a pair of sweats (though they were ugly) to wear when he spoke on national television to Good Morning America the next morning.

Sanderson said the “Miracle on the Hudson” as it has been called has turned into a new mission for him. He spoke to a United Methodist men’s group soon after returning home, and he said he met an 80-year-old woman who said she had been questioning the existence of God and miracles until she met Sanderson and heard his story at church.

He commended the Red Cross volunteers and supporters for the difference they make in the lives of many people.

Also recognized during the luncheon were three Terre Haute “heroes.” The third-grade class of teacher Kirsten Morrison at Farrington Grove Elementary raised $782.13 for students affected by the Henryville tornado disaster in March.

Teacher Brian Lonneman was recognized for being a CPR and first aid trainer for the Red Cross, as well as an aquatics safety instructor.

And businessman Bob Baesler was recognized as a community volunteer for his financial donations to local organizations.



Reporter Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@

tribstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @TribStarLisa.



Tribune-Star/Lisa Trigg

Survivor: David Sanderson, a survivor of the “Miracle on the Hudson” landing of a disabled airbus, shares his survivor story with the Red Cross of the Wabash Valley during a Heroes Luncheon on Friday at The Landing.                             

 

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