The captain goes down with the ship concept has been explicitly extended in law to the pilot in command of an aircraft, in the form of laws stating that he "[has] final authority and responsibility for the operation and safety of the flight." Jurisprudence has explicitly interpreted this by analogy with the captain of a sea vessel. This is particularly relevant when an aircraft is forced to ditch in the ocean and becomes a floating vessel that will almost certainly sink. For example, following the crash of US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River, pilot Chesley Sullenberger was the last person to exit the partially-submerged aircraft,
US Airways US Airways US Airways (formerly known as USAir) was a major American airline that ceased to operate independently when the Federal Aviation Administration granted a single operating certificate (SOC) for US Airways and American Airlines on April 8, 2015. Publicly, the two carriers appeared to merge when their reservations systems and booking processes were merged on October 17, 2015; however, other systems were still separate at that time. The airline had an extensive international and domestic network, with 193 destinations in 24 countries in North America, South America, Europe and the Middle East. The airline was a member of the