Many call it a “miracle on the Hudson River.” Others see it as the performance of a lifetime. No matter what, one thing is clear. Thanks to his training and expertise, Pilot Sully managed to land a huge aircraft damaged by bird strikes. It was not an easy task. Bravo to the stewards who managed to keep the passengers calm enough and get them out of the submerging airplane.
Who is Sully?
A former Air Force fighter pilot, “Sully” was lauded by New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg, who hailed Sullenberger’s actions as “masterful.” Even President George Bush called him to congratulate him.
What others are saying about this great act of heroism. The pilot made sure that he was the last person to leave the airplane.
ABCNews put it this way, “The hero of Flight 1549, pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III, walked the aisle of the downed US Airways jet twice looking for passengers before exiting the plane he safely ditched in the Hudson River, saving the lives of more than 150 people onboard.”
And the Wall Street Journal wrote the following, “For the first time in 50 years of commercial jet flight, the pilots of US Airways Flight 1549 successfully executed one of the most technically challenging maneuvers, landing a jetliner on water without fatalities.”
According to www.safetyreliability.com, you can read his bio this way,
“Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, III is a captain for a major U.S. airline with over 40 years of flying experience. A former U.S. Air Force (USAF) fighter pilot, he has served as an instructor and Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) safety chairman, accident investigator and national technical committee member. He has participated in several USAF and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident investigations. His ALPA safety work led to the development of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular. Working with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists, he coauthored a paper on error inducing contexts in aviation. He was instrumental in the development and implementation of the Crew Resource Management (CRM) course used at his airline and has taught the course to hundreds of his colleagues. Sully is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy (B.S.), Purdue University (M.S.) and the University of Northern Colorado (M.A.). He was a speaker on two panels at the High Reliability Organizations (HRO) 2007 International Conference in Deauville, France May 29-31, 2007. He has just been named a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.”
A new hero is with us! Hats off to Sully and his crew!
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