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 .
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 . 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,
