Veteran pilot Chesley B. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger III a hero after splashdown saved every life on board
In a nation that increasingly worships youth, age and experience triumphed when Chesley Sullenberger, pilot of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 landed his aircraft safely in the Hudson River. The 58 year old who is a 29 year veteran pilot of U.S. Airways is being hailed as the Hero of the Hudson.
by James Bone and Christine Seib in New York
A former fighter pilot was hailed as a hero last night after he guided his crippled airliner to a safe landing in the Hudson River in New York, saving the lives of all 155 people on board.
The pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 who gave passengers the chilling command “brace for impact” was Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, a 29-year veteran of the airline.
Captain Sullenberger, 58, served as a US Air Force fighter pilot from 1973 to 1980 and has also acted as an instructor and safety chairman for the Air Line Pilots’ Association.
January 16th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Great kudo’s go to Captain Sullenberger but also should be recognized is his co-pilot who has not been named. There is a crew of 2 in the cockpit and both were extremely busy, probably more so than you can imagine, to reach the outcome that which was achieved. it has not been determined who was actually flying, the captain or the co-pilot, when the plane took off. I would imagine with the situation that if the co-pilot ( first officer) that the captain may have taken control of the aircraft after the ingestion of the birds and power loss of both engines. The first officer would then taken over reading and accomplishing the required emergency checklist and attempt of a possible engine restart to attempt to regain power on at least one engine and would also been responsible for radio communications. There is more than one hero along with the cabin crew members and individuals who helped with the evacuation. My hat is off to all.
Sage Reply:
January 16th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Absolutely! I couldn’t agree more. Kudos to all of them.
January 17th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
I did some research on Chelsey B. Sullenberger, III’s ancestry. He is of Swiss, German, Native American Cherokee, and Scottish origin.