3 things I learned while my plane crashed - Ric Elias

Ric Elias had a front-row seat on Flight 1549, the plane that crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York in January 2009. What went through his mind as the doomed plane went down? At TED, he tells his story publicly for the first time.

Talk by Ric Elias.

[cbbcymc]

This is a good speech. It reminds me of being a happy person and cherishing those people around me.

[ClaudiaCoach]

I just had an experience of a emergency landing in a plane yesterday, this video make me all the sense today, make me realice how much I love live and my life

[ukepiqo]

Thanks for your sharing!
I think everyone should cherish the time.
We need to enjoy our life and don't waste time.

[angelpeng]

Thank you for your sharing, we should grasp every moment of life, don't leave regret in your life.

[VickyChrisikoupublic]

Thank you for sharing your experience Ric, I will remember it for the rest of my life! God bless you and your family.

[rrhebyd]

Thank's for your shaving.Life is short and time is swift.Appreciate what you have right now.

[Meowyobih]

Ricelias: imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3, 000 feet. Imagine a plane full of smoke, imagine an engine going “clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack” sounds scary, well I had a unique seat that day, I was sitting in 1d, I was the only one who could talk to the flight attendants so I looked at them right away and they said “no problem we probably hit some birds”. The pilot had already turned the plane around and we weren’t that far, you could see Manhattan. Two minutes, later three things happened at the same time. The pilot lines up the plane with the Hudson River, its usually not the route.
Audience: *Laughs*
Ricelias: He turns off the engines, now imagine being on a plane with no sound, and then he says three words, as unemotional three words I have ever heard. He says “brace for impact”. I didn’t have to talk to the flight attendant anymore.
Audience: *laughs*
Ricelias: I could see in her eyes it was terror, life was over and I want to share with you three things I learned about myself. I learned that it all changes in an instant. We have this bucket list, we have these things we want to do in life and I thought about all the people that I wanted to reach out that I didn’t, all the fences I wanted to mend, all the experiences I wanted to have and I never did. As I thought about that later on I came up with a saying which is “I collect bad wines”, because if the wine is ready and the person is there I’m opening, I no longer want to postpone anything in life and that urgency, that purpose has really changed my life. The second thing I learned that day and this is as we clear the George Washington bridge which was by not a lot.
Audience: *laughs*
Ricelias: I thought about wow I really feel one real regret I’ve lived a good life in my own humanity and mistakes I’ve tried to get better at everything I tried, but in my humanity I also allow my ego to get in, and I regretted the time I wasted and things that did not matter with people that matter. I thought about my relationship with my wife, with my friends, with people, and after as I reflected on that I decided to eliminate negative energy from my life, not perfect it’s a lot better. I’ve not had a fight with my wife in two years it feels great. I’m no longer trying to be right, I choose to be happy. The third thing I learned and this is, as your mental clock starts going “15, 14, 13” you can see the water coming I’m saying please blow up right, I don’t want this thing to break in 20 pieces like you’ve seen in those documentaries, and as we’re coming down I had a sense of “wow dying is not scary” it’s almost like we’ve been preparing for it our whole lives, but it was very sad, I didn’t want to go I love my life, and that sadness really framed in one thought which is I only wish for one thing, I only wish I could see my kids grow up. About a month later I was in a performance by my daughter, first grader, not much artists talent.
Audience: *Laughs*
Ricelias: Yet, and I’m balling and I’m crying like a little kid and it made all the sense in the world to me. I realize at that point by connecting those two dots that the only thing that matters in my life is being a great dad, above all, above all the only goal I have in life is to be a good dad. I was given the gift of a miracle, of not dying that day. I was given another gift which was to be able to see into the future and and come back, and live differently. I challenge you guys that are flying today, imagine the same thing happens on your plane and please don’t, but imagine and how would you change. What would you get down that you’re waiting to get done because you think you’ll be here forever. How would you change your relationships and the negative energy in them, and more than anything are you being the best parent you can, thank you.
Audience: *claps and cheers*

[dullyart]

It's not about right or wrong, my comment is about acknowledging the people who got him and everyone else out of there alive, which did not happen in this talk. He seems genuine in describing the impact this had on his life, I'm not calling that out.

[bencedobos]

waiting for youtube to recommend this video in a few years

[roastmaster]

i almost died a few years back and went through a very similar process except the one thing i changed was that I would become more constructive in all my relationships. it burned into my brain so hard that it became the core of my persona . Never looked back.

[georgedoty-williams]

"And I realised three fundamental truths at the exact same time!"
-Angelica Schuyler, c. 1780.

[butchpouka]

I thought he was one of a few bunch of survivors turn out that there was zero fatality 2 serious injures and three not so serious, I guess it will be interesting to hear what every one of the 155 has to say about his new appreciation to life and his profound insight of the accident!

[Nictator]

The plane likely wouldn't fill with water entirely and would create an unequal pressure against any exits, pushing you back in. The plane would be under hundreds of feet of water before you could get out. Besides, aircraft are very buoyant and will float for a more than long enough for everyone to get out (as long as it is in one or two pieces).

[adammurphy]

doesn't change the fact he believed he could die that day.

[roastmaster]

i dont think thatsthe point .most people go through the same process except some of us get lucky and survive

[THEVOIDALMIGHTY]

you dont need a plane crash to realize these facts, just a good enough reason to.

[RedDeadDinosaur]

Dude.
How often do you see a car crash in the news?
How often do you see a plane crash in the news?

Think about it on the potty reading the news and then come back to YouTube

[CusterFlux]

Ric Elias lives in a van down by the Hudson river.

[LancesArmorStriking]

So you're telling him that's he's wrong about his own experiences?

[gilydcg]

What are the three things he learned from the experience?