Flying at its best

Rating: 10/10 (22 October 2018)

There's no other movie than Sully that depicts the demonstration of perfect flying skills in what appears to be and would otherwise be a hopeless emergency situation. Not only thanks to the very realistic and accurate re-enactment of this true story by the superb Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart, but also and more importantly because it is simply amazing to see how the pilots pull off the impossible in just over 200 seconds.
Having taken myself private pilot lessons on a single engine Cessna in my student years 40 years ago practicing different inflight emergency situations, one key rule engraved from the beginning is NOT to attempt to return to the same (single) runway when engine failure just after take off. The temptation is there to turn around but the procedure taught by the instructor was to quickly (in seconds) pick the best place for an emergency landing in the immediate vicinity and plan and execute your one-shot approach.
Now with a twin-jet engine airliner and a single engine loss, there's sufficient thrust from the second engine and time to turn around and land safely. With both engines stopped as in Sully's case, it's like the single engine Cessna rule. No time for "guessing" or "experimenting". The incredible pilot skill is deciding where to land, gliding, steering and landing this large aircraft on water so smoothly that it did not roll, flip and break apart, saving everyone aboard. That is the beauty of this movie, seeing how it's done, the perfect reactions and actions by the experienced pilot and copilot in every detail. The realistic cinematography and sound experience augment this movie, directed by the great Clint Eastwood. Watched it several times already and still am mesmerized by it.