15 years after ‘Miracle on the Hudson’, some struggle with PTSD while others learn to fly

(CNN) — All the moments Wally Collins had yet to experience flashed before her eyes as she texted her husband to tell them their flight was landing.

Running his youngest son’s first home. Plan your children’s birthday parties. Be brilliant as the mother of the bride.

“I’m not a perfect mother, but I am his mother,” says the mother of three. “And to think I won’t end up raising them.”

Collins was occupying seat 26D on US Airways Flight 1549, which crashed into New York’s Hudson River 15 years ago this month, a miraculous landing that saved all 155 people on board and gave many new lives. The maneuver was called the most successful airplane ditching of all time by aviation experts, and Captain CB “Sully” Sullenberger was given hero status and, later, cinematic fame in the movie “Sully”.

That day, sitting in the front row of the plane, Rick Elias realized all the things he wouldn’t miss: the money, another win, another trip. He also reflected on not being there to raise his family.

Nearby, in Seat 1C, Barry Leonard couldn’t stop thinking about his family, from his wife and children to his mother. He didn’t shout, “I didn’t do anything,” he said.

In those fleeting moments as the plane descended, the silence of the two non-humming engines caught the attention of some on board. Thoughts of death invaded the minds of many, fearing the worst outcome.

Sullenberger and several passengers sat down with CNN for “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper” special on the 15th anniversary of the Miracle on the Hudson to talk about how that day changed the course of their lives, both for better and for worse. bad

“This the captain speaks. Prepare for impact”

While taking off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Sullenberger said he was surprised when a flock of Canada geese, with wingspans of up to six feet, crashed into the plane. Thereafter both engines lost thrust.

The experienced pilot quickly announced the cockpit warning of an emergency landing.

“This is the captain speaking. Prepare for impact,” Sullenberger said.

“I could hear the front stewards start yelling their orders to the passengers in unison. ‘Stop, hold, hold. Head down. Stay down.’ frequently.”

As panic spread through the cockpit, Sullenberger assessed his landing options with air traffic control. He said in an air traffic control recording that he felt he would not return to LaGuardia, and later rejected Teterboro and Newark airports in nearby New Jersey.

They were going to land in the Hudson River, he told air traffic control.

It took 208 seconds from the time the plane struck the birds until Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles maneuvered the plane to land in the Hudson River.

“It was a very big shock,” said passenger Leonard. “I believe my knee hit my sternum because my sternum is broken.”

The plane shook on a rough, violent landing, Collins recalled.

“When we apparently stopped, I looked up and thought, ‘I’m in one piece. This plane is whole.’

But the relief of landing was short-lived. Another challenge arose as flight attendants directed passengers to the wings to exit the plane.

“The water came in fast,” Collins said. “That was the scariest moment for me. I thought, ‘God, please don’t let me drown.’ It was very cold.”

It was -6 degrees Celsius that afternoon. Leonard unbuckled his belt, took off his shoes and jumped into the frozen river.

“I looked back and saw people walking on water,” he said. “I actually thought I was dead. And it wasn’t until I started swimming back that I realized there were people on the wing and I wasn’t dead.” The captain walked through each row of the plane twice, checking passengers. “I was in such a state of stress that I couldn’t believe my eyes or my ears,” Sullenberger told CNN. The plane continued to flood with water: a flight attendant shouted that they had to get off the plane.

Miraculously all 155 passengers survived.

While some passengers embraced the change, others felt lost

The before and after landing on the Hudson is very different, the moment that changed the lives of those on board the flight forever.

After the harrowing landing, Clay Presley, who was occupying seat 15D, said he became extremely claustrophobic, which he still suffers from.

“Even today, I can’t get into those tight spaces unless I know and feel that I have a very easy way out,” Presley told CNN.

Although Presley said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after the emergency landing, he decided to face his fear of flying. The former businessman learned to fly.

Sullenberger’s heroism and the first responders that day inspired him to become a pilot. Presley flies small planes and his own aircraft carries the tail number 1549H in honor of US Airways Flight 1549.

Psychologists like Sonja Lubomirski say that people respond to traumatic experiences in different ways. Some people can experience and stay depressed, while others can experience depression and recover, which shows resilience, he said.

And others may return to a higher starting point than they do, says Lyubomirski, a psychology professor and happiness expert at the University of California, Riverside.

For passenger Pam Siegel, who was in seat 12A, the near-death experience inspired her to take stock of her life and make big changes, she said.

In 2009 she was a senior marketing executive and realized she wanted to be more present for her two children, then teenagers, and her husband. Siegel also asked his boss to change jobs in search of more satisfaction.

“There aren’t enough rights for women or economic empowerment, so we’re trying to change that,” says Siegel, who now develops programs that promote women’s economic empowerment.

This post-traumatic growth spurt is normal, but everyone’s path is different, explains Richard Tedeschi, a researcher and psychologist with more than 40 years of practice.

“They often tell us that the events they’ve been through have changed the course of their lives,” Tedeschi says. “Maybe it’s introduced them to things they never thought of for themselves before.”

However, for some passengers like Collins, the positive changes weren’t as obvious.

“I wasn’t myself,” she said, describing how she felt a month later. “I was very sad, very sad. All of a sudden I didn’t feel ready to go on.”

Collins described his personality as Tigger from “Winnie the Pooh”, a tiger full of energy and optimism. But then he realizes that Eeyore, a gloomy and depressed donkey, is the complete opposite of Tigger.

“I was part of one of the biggest events in aviation history and I came out of it without a single scratch,” he said. “What’s wrong with you? React! You sound so ungrateful.”

Collins believes that several aspects of her life have improved since that day: She is more involved in her church and community, and has served on the boards of nonprofit organizations. However, he knows he will never be the same person he was when he boarded the plane.

The power of a feel-good story

The miraculous landing on the Hudson occurred at a time when anxiety and suffering dominated the thoughts of Americans. This was a time of recession, bank closures, layoffs and financial instability.

The miraculous landing and the heroism of the crew and lifeguards who came to their aid became a well-known story of the era.

“A heroic pilot,” New York Governor David Patterson said after the incident. “We’ve had a miracle on 34th Street, I think now we have a miracle on the Hudson.”

His wife Lori Sullenberger recalls that the media frenzy surrounding Sullenberger brought a buzz of generators and reporters outside their family home. But it also brought something else.

A handwritten note was printed on the family’s fax with a message: “America needs a victory. Thank you,” the unsigned fax said.

And so many people from around the world sent so much mail that employees had to bring it into containers, Lori Sullenberger said. A letter still stands out.

“Last year I lost my father to cancer. I lost my job and then my home. I lost my faith. You, sir, gave it back to me,” Sullinberger’s wife said in the letter.

The whole experience made Sullenberger reflect on the everyday acts of people who might not be visible.

“This is a reminder to all the people out there who are not corrupt, who are brave, who are kind, who work all the time, do important things, do compassionate things. We don’t know who they are.” said.

“They haven’t made themselves known publicly like we have. But it’s a potential that every one of us has.”