Happy Landing

The website of the U.S. Coast Guard is rarely of much interest to the public, but the dramatic landing of US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River is drawing visitors to the site to see video that shows the actual moment in which the plane went into the drink. Unlike other visual materials posted on the website, such as this image of a missing-at-sea search pattern below, the arresting airplane images have also been republished on the websites of several news organizations, including the New York Times.
The Times has also been soliciting photos from its own readers, which are displayed here, and is apparently using the same strategy to document the inauguration next week.

Searches on the website Flickr for images of the improvised landing show a range of content relevant to the event, from professional photographers intending to peddle their wares to spontaneous snaps shot by amateurs from the ferries who came to rescue the passengers on the wings of the plane and emergency rafts.

Although he may not be a user of social network sites himself, Captain C. B. "Sully" Sullenberger, who is also part of Berkeley's Center for Catastrophic Risk Management, already has many Facebook friends expressing their admiration for his piloting skills, which resulted in not a single death from the accident.