On November 20, 2009, during a scholarship fund raising dinner in Starke, Casey Jones addressed a crowd of about 150 people.  Mr. Jones was aboard US Airways Flight 1549 on January 15, 2009, when it crashed into the Hudson River.

He was in seat 7A and after evacuation to the left wing of the crippled aircraft he spent he next 17 minutes awaiting his turn for rescue.  When he was finally ready to climb aboard the New York Waterways feery, he was the last person on either wing.  The experience of surviving the most successful ditching in aviation history makes his story one of life, love and hope.

Throughout Casey's career in business and technology leadership, his 25 years of marriage and the raising of his four children, he has believed that life's challenges teach us to rise up to the next level.  The events of January 15 further solidified this belief, raised his awareness of the gift of each and every day and cemented the realization that our challenges, struggles and successes are meant to be shared.  That sharing enriches, enhances and encourages each person we come into contact with every day. He feels called to embrace the moments that can change and support those around him.

As a result of his remarkable experience, he has appeared on local television, Good Morning America, and was featured in an "Assignment America" report on the CBS Evening News.  His return to flying was also chronicled in the St. Petersburg Times by Pulitzer winning journalist, Lane DeGregory.  The book "Miracle on the Hudson: The Survivors of Flight 1549 Tell Their Extraordinary Stories of Courage, Faith and Determination" by the Survivors of Flight 1549 (Authors: William Prochnau and Laura Parker) was released on November 3, 2009.

 

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