My father is a retired pilot (Delta) and he always said bird strikes were his biggest fear. By the time you see them it is too late and engines just weren’t made to withstand that kind of trauma in mid-flight. What saved these people is his experience at being a glider pilot. He made that plane do things it just isn’t supposed to do. Most pilots would have crashed it or just gone out to sea. He had to have everything perfect from speed to angle of attack and nailed it. He is a genuine hero.