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Crash co-pilot hopes to fly again in weeks

MADISON — The co-pilot who helped crash-land a passenger plane safely in the Hudson River hopes to fly again in a few weeks and praised everyone involved in the rescue.

Jeff Skiles, of Oregon, Wis., was in the cockpit of the U.S. Airways plane assisting pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger when it crash-landed in the river Jan. 15, apparently after bird strikes knocked out its engines. All 155 passengers and crew were safely rescued.

Skiles, 49, said he and the rest of the plane's crew were lucky things turned out as well as they did.

"I'd just like to say we were all very fortunate that things went our way and there were a lot more people involved than just me," Skiles said. "Flight attendants in back who evacuated the airplane, all the first responders who where there with the boats, the New York Fire Department, the New York Police Department, all had a role in the successful outcome. We were quite fortunate."

Skiles visited the state Capitol Wednesday to receive a commendation for heroism from the state Senate. Then he appeared as Gov. Jim Doyle's guest at his State of the State address Wednesday evening.

He told reporters in a brief interview after receiving his award that he can fly commercially again immediately and hopes to get back in the air by the end of February. He hinted he plans to continue flying until the mandatory retirement age of 65.

Asked if he wished he'd done anything differently the day of the crash, he replied: "No. Not really."

Skiles lives in state Sen. Jon Erpenbach's south-central Wisconsin district. Erpenbach, D-Middleton, praised Skiles on the Senate floor Wednesday, calling the entire event "amazing."

During a conversation in his office, Erpenbach said Skiles calmly told him, "'We were doing our job."'

Skiles, his wife Barb, their three children and Skiles' parents stood along the side of the chamber as the Senate chief clerk read the commendation. Skiles, dressed in a dark suit and tie, seemed a bit uncomfortable with the attention, clasping and unclasping his hands and looking down at the ground and up, smiling at times.

He did not address lawmakers. When it was over the entire Senate rose and gave him an ovation. Senators then went over to him and shook his hand. He and his family posed for photographs by senators' aides as well as a photographer for the Wisconsin Blue Book, a biennial directory of state lawmakers and agencies.

Last week Skiles attended President Obama's inauguration.

Doyle ended a State of the State speech that warned of the state's grim economic future by introducing Skiles as a hero who exemplifies a never-say-die attitude.

The packed state Assembly chamber gave Skiles a wild, bipartisan standing ovation marked by cheers and whoops. Skiles, flanked by his wife and Doyle's wife, Jessica, in the balcony, stood up quietly in acknowledgment.

"Jeffrey, your heroism and heroic actions of your fellow crew members have made all the difference in the world for your passengers and all their families," Doyle said when the applause had quieted. "Thank you on behalf of the state of Wisconsin."