“They were kind of railroading him into “it was his fault”, Eastwood said in a publicity video for the Warner Bros film.
Advertisement
Robert Benzon, a veteran of the National Transportation Safety Board who actually investigated the Miracle on the Hudson, was asked about the portrayal of the NTSB in Clint Eastwood’s movie, Sully, as villains – though, mild villains, by all accounts of people who have seen the film prior to its September 9 release date.
Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger does not consider himself a hero for landing US Airways Flight 1549 safely on the Hudson River in 2009 – but Tom Hanks, who plays Sullenberger in the upcoming film “Sully“, most certainly does.
The NTSB was not asked to contribute to or participate in the production of “Sully” and as such we were not afforded an opportunity to ensure our actions and words were portrayed with accurate context or reflected our perspective.
The US Airways’ plane lost thrust in both engines not long after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in NY, but Sullenberger still managed to land the airliner with 150 people on board in the river without losing a single life.
“We’re not the KGB”. Benzon, who is now retired, added, “These guys were already national heroes”.
“What you get from the recreations we did is how many people were involved in the aftermath, but also how specific it did come down to those two guys in the cockpit”, the Oscar victor said.
Nervous travelers may want to wait to see this film, but anyone else looking through movie showings should check out Sully, opening in theaters this Friday. “We weren’t out to embarrass anybody at all”.
The film not only shows the media blitz and public spotlight projected on Sully, but also features the personal trauma and stress he is put through after the incident.
“He said, “These are people who are not prosecutors”. “That’s an easy thing to change”. He said he’s also been impressed since then with how Sullenberger has used his fame to promote aviation safety. “I happen to be a big fan of the man”.
Advertisement
“There is a very good chance”, said Haueter, “that there is a segment of the population that will take this as proof of government incompetence and it will make things worse”.
