ONE year ago, a luckless flock of birds snuffed out both engines on a packed Airbus A320 jet, forcing it to ditch in New York’s Hudson river. All on board survived, making a chatshow-circuit hero of pilot Chesley Sullenberger.
This book suggests, however, that Sullenberger’s glide to the water was aided considerably by the unseen hand of Bernard Ziegler, engineer of the A320’s “fly-by-wire” control system. The system intervenes to prevent pilots flying too slowly to maintain lift or at angles that risk a stall. Ziegler’s software ensured the plane behaved safely, “cradling” it onto the water, William…
