Jeffrey Bruce "Jeff" Skiles (born November 18, 1959) is an
airline pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
for
American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
.
[ On January 15, 2009, he became globally known as first officer of ]US Airways Flight 1549
US Airways Flight 1549 was a regularly scheduled US Airways flight from New York City (LaGuardia Airport), to Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte and Seattle, in the United States. On January 15, 2009, the Airbus A320 serving the flight bir ...
, when he worked together with captain Chesley Sullenberger
Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III (born January 23, 1951) is a retired American fighter pilot, diplomat, and airline pilot best known for his heroism as captain of US Airways Flight 1549 that he ditched in the Hudson River in 2009 a ...
to land the aircraft on the Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
after the plane lost both of its engines.[ They were widely celebrated as heroes for landing the plane with no loss of life.
]
Early life and career
Jeff Skiles was born and raised in the greater Madison metropolitan area of Wisconsin. Both of Skiles' parents, James Skiles and Deloris McKenney, were pilots during his childhood, and he became a pilot himself when he was sixteen years old.[ He first worked flying ]cargo planes
A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft usually do not incorporate passenger am ...
, then worked for Midstate Airlines
Midstate Airlines (also known as Mid-State Airlines and Midstate Air Commuter (MAC)) was an airline with its headquarters in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
History
It was founded by Roy P. Shwery in 1964 and provided air service out of Marshfield, ...
from 1983 to 1986, and after that joined US Airways
US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called ...
. At the time of the emergency landing he had been with US Airways for 23 years.
US Airways Flight 1549
Skiles was flying as a First Officer on Flight 1549 due to a staff reduction at US Airways;[ he had usually flown as ]Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
prior to the staff reduction and had slightly more flight hours than Sullenberger (though Skiles was relatively new to flying the Airbus A320
The Airbus A320 family is a series of Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus.
The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air F ...
).
Atul Gawande
Atul Atmaram Gawande (born November 5, 1965) is an American surgeon, writer, and public health researcher. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a professor in the Departmen ...
, author of ''The Checklist Manifesto
''The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right '' is a 2009 non-fiction book by Atul Gawande. It was released on December 22, 2009, through Metropolitan Books and focuses on the use of checklists in relation to several elements of daily and pr ...
'', asserted that the successful emergency landing relied on the cooperation of Sullenberger and Skiles.[ Gawande's central premise is that even really experienced people in any field encounter rare events, and that successfully coping with the rare event requires first, the careful anticipation of future emergencies, and secondly, preparing a well thought-out list of steps to follow, in advance:
In his book, Gawande stated that, during an emergency, there are so many tasks to complete that the first officer is working at least as hard as the captain.][ Sullenberger had taken on the task of finding a safe place to land, and actually landing, leaving his experienced co-pilot Skiles the task of following the checklist to try to restart the jet engines. Gawande noted that Skiles was able to complete the checklist in the less than three-minute period between the ]bird strike
A bird strike—sometimes called birdstrike, bird ingestion (for an engine), bird hit, or bird aircraft strike hazard (BASH)—is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a moving vehicle, usually an aircraft. The term ...
and the landing, noting this was "something investigators later testified to be "very remarkable" in the time frame he hadand something they found difficult to replicate in simulation."
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
interviewer Charlie Rose
Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP.
Rose also co-an ...
interviewed Skiles on February 10, 2009.[ During that interview Skiles predicted that Sullenberger would receive on-going attention, but his (Skiles') fifteen minutes of fame would end when he left Rose's studio. However, he has continued to be a well-known speaker on corporate organizational reform and crisis management.
The ]National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
(NTSB) conducted a lengthy and extensive investigation of the accident culminating in their published report dated April 4, 2010, stating: “The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the ingestion of large birds into each engine, which resulted in an almost total loss of thrust in both engines and the subsequent ditching on the Hudson River.”
Post Flight 1549 career
After a formal review of their performance, both Sullenberger and Skiles had their flight status restored, but Sullenberger retired in 2010.[ Sullenberger and Skiles flew together, on March 3, 2010, on a recreation of their original flight plan, on Sullenberger's last flight for US Airways.
Skiles went on to become the Vice President of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA) that represents the interests of 28,000 airline pilots in safety and security issues. In this role he was instrumental in the creation of the First Officer Qualification rule, which significantly increased the requirements for training and experience of First Officers on the flight deck of US registered airliners. Skiles joined with the Families of Continental Flight 3407 and the National Air Disaster Alliance to mold the creation of and ensure passage of the Airline Safety Act of 2010, which significantly improved safety in the US airline industry. Since its passage, the only fatality in a US airline accident occurred April 17, 2018, when a passenger died onboard Southwest Airlines Flight 1380.
In September 2009, Skiles and Sullenberger became the honorary Co-Chairmen of the ]Experimental Aircraft Association
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapt ...
(EAA)'s Young Eagles
The Young Eagles is a program created by the US Experimental Aircraft Association designed to give children between the ages of 8 to 17 an opportunity to experience flight in a general aviation airplane while educating them about aviation. The pr ...
program, that utilizes EAA's nationwide network of local chapters to offer free airplane rides to young people and expose them to general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
and careers in aviation. EAA volunteers have performed over 2.2 million flights since its inception, making it the most successful program of its kind in history.
, Skiles was working for American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
, piloting Boeing 787 Dreamliner
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...
s.[
]
Honors
On January 16, 2009, the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
passed a resolution recognizing and honoring Sullenberger, Skiles, the cabin crew, the passengers, and the first responders
A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...
involved in Flight 1549's emergency landing; and during the Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
pre-game ceremony
A pre-game ceremony or pre-match ceremony is an on-field ceremony occurring before a sporting event. Such ceremonies may celebrate a past event, honour a retiring athlete, commemorate a deceased athlete, or promote a cause.
Celebrating past event ...
on February 1, 2009, Sullenberger, Skiles, and Flight 1549's cabin crew—Doreen Welsh, Sheila Dail, and Donna Dent—were honored with a standing ovation. Skiles and the entire crew of Flight 1549 also received a Masters Medal by the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators
The Honourable Company of Air Pilots, formerly the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN), is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Company was founded in 1929, and became a Livery Company in 1956. Elizabeth II granted ...
and a Key to the City
The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...
of New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in 2009, as well as the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
Trophy for Current Achievement in 2010.[Van der Linden, Bob(April 26, 2010)]
"The Crew of US Airways Flight 1549 to be Presented with the National Air and Space Museum's Trophy Award for Current Achievement"
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, also called the Air and Space Museum, is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States.
Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, it opened its main building on the Nat ...
. Retrieved August 19, 2022. Through their involvement with the Young Eagles and various aviation safety
Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of airc ...
advocacy efforts, Skiles and Sullenberger received the 2015 EAA Freedom of Flight Award.
Publications and media
Skiles is a writer and, since 2011, has published over 100 articles on safety and general interest aviation topics in nationally distributed magazines such as ''Sport Aviation'', ''Flying'', ''Air & Space'', ''PilotMag'', ''Midwest Flyer'', ''Vintage Airplane'', and the ''Physicians Executive Journal''.
In the 2016 drama film '' Sully'', directed by Clint Eastwood
Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
, Skiles is portrayed by Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. He began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his hi ...
, while Sullenberger is portrayed by Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skiles, Jeffery B.
1959 births
Living people
Commercial aviators
Aviators from Wisconsin
People from Oregon, Wisconsin
US Airways Group
American Airlines people
Experimental Aircraft Association
People from Madison, Wisconsin