" "The pilot, after a lot of damage to the aircraft, was faced with a situation of either ditching the aircraft in the ocean or bailing out or landing the aircraft, and he made the choice that everyone would have wanted him to make -- to land at the nearest available airfield, which happened to be on Chinese soil, And he did it well.

CNN: U.S. pilot struggled to regain control after collision

Mr Knapp said its remarkable condition was not just down to pilot skill, but also a lot of luck.

BBC: Duxford war museum's Spitfire work 'preserving history'

"A lot of training goes into becoming a pilot, " said Don Koranda, vice president of the Training Aviation Safety Foundation.

CNN: Crash of child pilot prompts review of FAA guidelines

Some witnesses said the pilot appeared to deliberately turn the plane toward the vacant lot to avoid hitting people in the area, but Plagens said it was too early to say whether the pilot could control the plane.

CNN: One killed in California plane crash

For Sullenberger -- perhaps the nation's most famous pilot -- the idea of remote-controlled airliners triggers a lot of critical questions.

CNN: Who's really flying the plane?