A PACK, NOT A HERD:

After a stricken US Airways jet made an extraordinary emergency landing in the Hudson River on Thursday, a flotilla of commuter ferries, water taxis and other boats plucked all 155 passengers and crew — many shivering as they stood on the plane’s wings — to safety in as little as five minutes. . . .

Once the plane was down, the ferries and other boats immediately went into action.

“Hurry up, guys! Man overboard!” shouted Vince Lombardi, the captain of the ferry Thomas Jefferson. Lombardi and his crew were among the first at the scene and rescued 56 people, he said. “They were shouting ‘I’m cold, I’m cold.’ “

I’ll bet they were. And Vince Lombardi? You gotta love that. Meanwhile, the New York-area waterfolk distinguished themselves on September 11, and they did it again, yesterday.