I've gotten notifications via email six times on this comment now, so I suppose I need to clarify.

Aimee, I do agree with what you have said. I do think you misread the intent of my comment about US Airways 1549 from my blog. I have read several news stories that have put a very strange spin on the story, which have made it seem that any other pilot, save Sully, would have caused a disastrous crash. This is not so. I know that my husband has received excellent safety training through his airline. He is nowhere near as experienced as Sully, but I have faith that MANY pilots in commercial aviation would have had the capacity to land the plane safely. The emergency procedures were expertly exectued, and I do believe God's hand was active in the sucessful splash landing.

Does this make sense? I'm absolutely not anti-miracle, but I think credit does need to go overall to pilots who have safety procedures and flows so ingrained in their muscle memory that they would have the capacity to save lives. My husband was involved in a birdstrike that nearly required a belly landing, but he and the captain followed the safety requirements and successfully landed with no injury. Unfortunately, Colgan's flight resulted in the worst case scenario...but I have faith that the pilots and crew members who perished were on top of their game - following safety procedures a best they could in an impossible situation.