Passengers not amused by pilot's Hudson River joke

When the voice of the United Airlines pilot boomed over the cabin loudspeakers after takeoff Tuesday evening, passengers expected the usual greeting and weather update. Instead, the pilot attempted a joke — a poor one, according to a South Carolina native aboard the flight from Washington D.C. to London.

As the plane reached its cruising altitude over New York, the United pilot said, "Ladies and gentlemen, if you are on the left side of the plane, you will see a spectacular view of New York City and US Airways' new runway, the Hudson River," according to the passenger.

The joke was a reference to the controlled crash of US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Jan. 15. That plane's pilot, Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III, has since become a national hero for safely and skillfully landing the commercial jetliner in the icy water and sparing the lives of everyone on board.

Lane Hudson, a Darlington native and a College of Charleston graduate, was on the United flight and didn't think the joke was the slightest bit funny.

"There was this really uncomfortable giggling in the cabin," Hudson told The Post and Courier by telephone from London Wednesday. "People just couldn't believe he said that."

Hudson, 31, who writes a political blog for huffingtonpost.com, was so incensed by the comment he pulled out his laptop and started writing about the incident. He posted his account on the blog after landing in London.

"I think the pilot owes an apology to Captain Sullenberger, his crew and passengers."

A spokesperson for United Airlines said she was looking into the matter and could not immediately comment.

Sullenberger testified before a Congressional panel Tuesday, telling lawmakers that cut backs by airlines have hurt the profession's ability to attract the country's "best and brightest."