EAST RUTHERFORD ? Vince Carter is a hero to many kids and Basketball fans, but what he saw from his Weehawken bedroom Thursday afternoon defined heroism.
An awestruck Carter witnessed U.S. Airways Flight 1549 land in the Hudson River from his window a few hours before the Nets played at Izod Center. The shooting guard known for doing amazing things on the Basketball court said what the pilot did truly was amazing. "We at the Nets should honor him and I would be the first out there to shake his hand and say incredible work," Carter said Friday. "That's amazing to be able to land a machine that large with that many lives at stake, including his own. He put it right there, right in the middle of the water, safe and sound. It was unbelievable."
The pilot's name is Chesley B. Sullenberger III. Because of his heroism, all 155 people on board survived.
"The way he landed, he landed flat," Carter said. "It wasn't a nosedive. He put it flat down.
"The next thing you know, a couple of seconds later, you see people jumping out and a few seconds later you see people on the wing.
"As that was happening, the ferry was already in transit across the Jersey side and the other ferry got there. The next thing you know the police cars are coming everywhere and more ferries. It was an amazing scene. It looked like it was out of a movie.
"I'm not one that's looking out the window every day and the day I decide to, there's a plane landing in the Hudson," Carter said. "It was one of those things you never forget."
E-mail: iannazzone@northjersey.com
