Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III (born January 23, 1951) is an American retired aircraft pilot, diplomat and aviation safety expert. He is best known for his actions as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

US Airways Flight 1549 US Airways Flight 1549 was a regularly scheduled US Airways flight from New York City's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte and Seattle, in the United States. On January 15, 2009, the Airbus A320 serving the flight struck a flock of birds shortl ...

on January 15, 2009, when he ditched the plane, landing on the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

after both engines were disabled by a

bird strike A bird strike (sometimes called birdstrike, bird ingestion (for an engine), bird hit, or bird aircraft strike hazard (BASH)) is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a moving vehicle (usually an aircraft). The term ...

. All 155 people aboard survived. After the Hudson landing, Sullenberger became an outspoken advocate for

aviation safety Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of airc ...

and helped develop new protocols for flight safety. He served as the co-chairman, along with his

co-pilot In aviation, the first officer (FO), also called co-pilot, is a pilot in addition to the captain, who is the legal commander. In the event of incapacitation of the captain, the first officer will assume command of the aircraft. Requirement Hi ...

on Flight 1549,

Jeffrey Skiles Jeffrey Bruce Skiles (born November 18, 1959) is a retired airline pilot for American Airlines. On January 15, 2009, he became known globally as First officer (aviation), first officer of US Airways Flight 1549, when he worked together with capt ...

, of the

Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 300,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. ...

(EAA)'s

Young Eagles The Young Eagles is a program created by the US Experimental Aircraft Association designed to give children between the ages of 8 and 17 an opportunity to experience flight in a general aviation airplane while educating them about aviation. The pr ...

youth introduction-to-aviation program from 2009 to 2013. Sullenberger retired from

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

in 2010, after 30 years as a commercial pilot.Weiss, Mitch; Bomkamp, Samantha (March 3, 2010)
"'Miracle on the Hudson' pilot Sullenberger retires"
''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

''. In 2011, he was hired by

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

as an aviation and safety expert."'Sully' Sullenberger named CBS News Aviation and Safety Expert"
. TV Newser, May 19, 2011 Sullenberger is the co-author, with

Jeffrey Zaslow Jeffrey Lloyd Zaslow (October 6, 1958 – February 10, 2012) was an American author and journalist, and a columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal''. Zaslow was widely known as a coauthor of books, and the sole author of numerous books. Early l ...

, of the ''New York Times'' bestseller '' Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters'', a memoir of his life and of the events surrounding Flight 1549. His second book, ''Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders'', was published in 2012. He was ranked second in ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''s '' Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009'', after

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...

. In 2021, President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

announced he would nominate Sullenberger as U.S. representative to the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

(ICAO) with the rank of

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

. He was confirmed by

unanimous consent In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a propo ...

in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and served in that role from February 3 to July 1, 2022.

Early life

Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III was born January 23, 1951, in

Denison, Texas Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States, south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. Its population was 24,479 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 22,682 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Denison is pa ...

. His father was a descendant of Swiss-German immigrants named Sollenberger. He has one younger sister, Mary. The street on which he grew up was named after his mother's family. According to his sister, Sullenberger built model planes and

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

s during his childhood; she says he became interested in flying after seeing military jets from an Air Force base near his house. He went to school in Denison and was consistently on the 99th

percentile In statistics, a ''k''-th percentile, also known as percentile score or centile, is a score (e.g., a data point) a given percentage ''k'' of all scores in its frequency distribution exists ("exclusive" definition) or a score a given percentage ...

in every academic category. At age 11, his IQ was deemed

high enough "High Enough" is a song by American supergroup Damn Yankees from their self-titled debut album. A power ballad, it is their most successful single in terms of chart position and sales, rising to 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, the gr ...

that he was allowed to join

Mensa International Mensa International is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. Mensa ...

. In high school, he was the president of the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

club, a first chair

flutist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

, and an honor student. He was an active member of the Waples Memorial

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

. He graduated from Denison High School in 1969, near the top of his class of about 350. At 16, Sullenberger learned to fly in an Aeronca Champion 7DC at a private airstrip near his home. He said that the training he received from a local flight instructor influenced his aviation career. Sullenberger earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and basic sciences from the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in industrial-organizational psychology from

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

in 1973 and a

Master of Public Administration A Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a specialized professional graduate degree in public administration that prepares students for leadership roles, similar or equivalent to a Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the ...

from

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO or UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado, United States. It was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has offi ...

in 1979.

Military service

Sullenberger was appointed to the

, entering with the Class of 1973 in June 1969. He was selected along with around a dozen other freshmen for a cadet glider program, and by the end of that year, he was an instructor pilot. When he graduated in 1973, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship award, as the class's "top flyer". Immediately following his graduation with a

degree and his commissioning as an officer, the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

sent Sullenberger to

to pursue a master's degree prior to entering Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT). Following completion of his master's, he was assigned to UPT at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, flying the

T-37 Tweet The Cessna T-37 Tweet (designated Model 318 by Cessna) is a small, economical twin-engine jet trainer aircraft. It was flown for decades as a primary trainer of the United States Air Force (USAF) as well as in the air forces of several other nati ...

and

T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced. The T-38 can be tra ...

. After earning his wings in 1975 as a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

, he completed replacement training in the

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bower ...

at Luke AFB, Arizona. This was followed by his assignment to the 493d Tactical Fighter Squadron of 48th Tactical Fighter Wing at

RAF Lakenheath Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station near the village of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, UK, north-east of Mildenhall, Suffolk, Mildenhall and west of Thetford. The insta ...

, United Kingdom, in the F-4D Phantom II. Following his assignment at RAF Lakenheath, he was reassigned to the 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada, again flying the F-4D. He advanced to become a flight leader and a training officer and attained the rank of

. He gained experience in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

the Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, and at

Nellis Air Force Base Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloquialism, colloq.) is a United States Air Force military installation, installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts Aerial warfare, air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exerc ...

, and operated as Blue Force mission commander in Red Flag Exercises. He served on an aircraft accident investigation board.

Civil aviation career

Sullenberger worked for

and its predecessor airlines from 1980 until 2010. (

Pacific Southwest Airlines Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was a low-cost carrier, low-cost US airline headquartered in San Diego, California, that operated from 1949 to 1988. It was the first substantial scheduled low-cost carrier, discount airline. PSA called itself "Th ...

was acquired by US Air, later US Airways, in 1988.) He holds an airline transport pilot certificate for single and multi-engine airplanes, a commercial pilot license rating in gliders, and a

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

certificate for airplanes (single, multi-engine, and instrument) and gliders. In total, he has more than 50 years and 20,000 hours of flying experience. In 2007, he became the founder and CEO of Safety Reliability Methods, Inc. (SRM), a firm providing strategic and tactical guidance to enhance organizational safety, performance, and reliability. He has been involved in a number of accident investigations conducted by the USAF and the

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

(NTSB), such as Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 and

USAir Flight 1493 On the evening of Friday, February 1, 1991, USAir Flight 1493, a Boeing 737, Boeing 737-300, collided with SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569, a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop aircraft, upon landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) ...

. He served as an instructor,

Air Line Pilots Association The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is the largest pilot union in the world, representing more than 79,000 pilots from 42 US and Canadian airlines. ALPA was founded on 27 July 1931 and is a member of the AFL-CIO and the Canadian ...

local air safety chairman, accident investigator, and national technical committee member. His safety work for ALPA led to the development of a

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

advisory circular. He was instrumental in developing and implementing the Crew Resource Management course that was used by US Airways, and he has taught the course to hundreds of airline crew members. Working with

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

scientists, he coauthored a paper on error-inducing contexts in aviation. He was an air accident investigator for an NTSB inquiry into a major accident at

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles and its Greater Los Angeles, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of California. LAX is located in the Westchester, Los Angeles, Westcheste ...

, which "led to improved airline procedures and training for emergency evacuations of aircraft." Sullenberger studied the

behind keeping an airline crew functioning during a crisis. Sullenberger was active with his union, serving as chairman of a safety committee within the

. He was a featured speaker for two panels: one on aviation and one on patient safety in medicine, at the High Reliability Organizations (HRO) 2007 International Conference in 2007.

US Airways Flight 1549

Plane crash into Hudson River muchcropped

On January 15, 2009, Sullenberger was the captain of

, an

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...

taking off from

LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport ( ) – colloquially known as LaGuardia or simply LGA – is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, situated on the North Shore (Long Island), northwestern shore of Long Island, bord ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

bound for

Charlotte Douglas International Airport Charlotte Douglas International Airport is an international airport serving Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, located roughly west of the city's central business district. Charlotte Douglas is the primary airport for commercial and m ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Shortly after takeoff, the plane

struck Struck is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adolf Struck Adolf Hermann Struck (1877–1911) was a German sightseer and writer. He is known for his Travel literature, travelogue ''Makedonische Fahrten'' and for surveying the ...

a flock of

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North ...

and lost power in both engines. Quickly determining he would be unable to reach either LaGuardia or

Teterboro Airport Teterboro Airport is a general aviation relief airport situated in the boroughs of Teterboro, Moonachie, and Hasbrouck Heights in Bergen County, New Jersey. Sullenberger flew the plane to an emergency

water landing In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the water su ...

on the

. All 155 people on board survived and were rescued. Sullenberger said later: "It was very quiet as we worked, my copilot Jeff Skiles and I. We were a team. But to have zero thrust coming out of those engines was shocking—the silence." Sullenberger was the last to leave the aircraft, after twice making sweeps through the cabin to make sure all passengers and crew had evacuated. Sullenberger, described by friends as "shy and reticent", was noted for his poise and calm during the crisis; New York City Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

dubbed him "Captain Cool". Nonetheless, Sullenberger suffered symptoms of

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

in subsequent weeks, including sleeplessness and flashbacks. He said that the moments before the landing were "the worst sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling" that he had ever experienced. He also said, "One way of looking at this might be that for 42 years, I've been making small, regular deposits in this bank of experience, education and training. And on January 15, the balance was sufficient so that I could make a very large withdrawal." The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that landing on the river was the correct decision instead of attempting a return to LaGuardia Airport because the normal procedures for engine loss are designed for cruising altitudes, not immediately after takeoff. Simulations performed at the Airbus Training Centre Europe in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

showed that Flight 1549 could have made it back to LaGuardia had that maneuver begun immediately after the bird strike. However, such scenarios both neglected the time necessary for the pilots to understand and assess the situation, and risked the possibility of a crash within a densely populated area.

Post-flight accolades and publicity

U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

called Sullenberger to thank him for saving the lives of the passengers, as did President-elect

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, who invited him and the crew to join the presidential inauguration ceremony. On January 16, 2009, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

passed a resolution recognizing and honoring Sullenberger, Skiles, the cabin crew, the passengers, and the

first responders A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency. First responders typically include law enforcement officers (commonly known as ...

involved in Flight 1549's emergency landing. The

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

passed a similar resolution on January 26, 2009. Sullenberger attended the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2009, where he and his wife met President Obama. On January 22, 2009, he and the rest of the crew of Flight 1549 were awarded a Masters Medal by the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators. A ceremony for Sullenberger was held on January 24, 2009, in Sullenberger's town of

Danville, California The Town of DanvillePronounced is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is one of the List of municipalities in California, incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their nam ...

, where he was presented with awards including Danville's "Key to the Town", and was named an honorary Danville

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

. While in the

Tri-Valley The Tri-Valley area is grouping of three valleys in the East Bay region of California's Bay Area. The three valleys are Amador Valley, Livermore Valley, and San Ramon Valley. The Tri-Valley encompasses the cities of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasa ...

, Sullenberger gave his first official interview to Jega Sanmugam of ''The Wildcat Tribune,'' the student newspaper of Dougherty Valley High School, which his daughter attended at the time.Moellering, Amy. "Inside our Schools: Student scores first print interview with US". ''

Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' was a daily newspaper published in Oakland, California, and a predecessor of the '' East Bay Times''. It was published by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' ...

'', 2009-02-16. In a special February 2009 edition, the ''Tribune'' published "Heroism & Humility on the Hudson", covering Sullenberger and the Flight 1549 landing. Chesley Sullenberger honored

San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District The San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the cities of Alamo, Blackhawk, Danville, Diablo, Camino Tassajara and San Ramon as well as southern areas of the Morgan Territory in ...

Chief Richard Price presented Captain Sullenberger with his district's highest award, the Medal of Valor, which had been given only a few times in the district's history. Sullenberger, Skiles, and Flight 1549's cabin crew—Doreen Welsh, Sheila Dail, and Donna Dent—were honored with a standing ovation during the

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

pre-game ceremony A pre-game ceremony or pre-match ceremony is an on-field ceremony occurring before a sporting event. Such ceremonies may celebrate a past event, honour a retiring athlete, commemorate a deceased athlete, or promote a cause. Celebrating past event ...

on February 1, 2009. Sullenberger was awarded with honorary lifetime membership in the Seaplane Pilots Association. In 2009, Sullenberger was awarded the Founders' Medal by The Air League. Admirers of Sullenberger started a

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

fan site that, as of late February 2009, had half a million members. A library book, ''Just Culture: Balancing Safety and Accountability'' was in Sullenberger's luggage left behind in the cockpit. When Sullenberger notified the library that the water-damaged book had been recovered, it made a point of waiving any late fees. Bloomberg presented Sullenberger with a new copy along with the Key to the City of New York. Sullenberger threw out the

first pitch The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from their seat in the grandstand to ...

of the 2009

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

season for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. His Giants jersey was inscribed with the name "Sully" and the number 155—a reference to the 155 people aboard the plane. On June 6, 2009, Sullenberger returned to Denison to participate in the town's

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

celebration and to give the commencement address for his alma mater, marking the 40th anniversary of his graduation from the school. Sullenberger made an appearance in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, on July 14, 2009, to participate in the Red Carpet All-Star Parade before the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. On February 24, 2009, Sullenberger testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Aviation of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that his salary had been cut by 40 percent, and that his pension, like most airline pensions, was terminated and replaced by a

PBGC The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a United States federally chartered corporation created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to encourage the continuation and maintenance of voluntary private defined ...

guarantee worth only pennies on the dollar. He cautioned that airlines were "under pressure to hire people with less experience. Their salaries are so low that people with greater experience will not take those jobs. We have some carriers that have hired some pilots with only a few hundred hours of experience. ... There's simply no substitute for experience in terms of aviation safety." The Sullenberger Aviation Museum in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

is named for him. It houses a Miracle on the Hudson exhibit.

Recognition

* American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Annie Glenn Award (2021) * Tony Jannus Award (2018) * EAA Freedom of Flight Award (2015, with Jeff Skiles) *

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...

Trophy for Current Achievement (2010, with rest of Flight 1549 crew)Van der Linden, Bob(April 26, 2010)
"The Crew of US Airways Flight 1549 to be Presented with the National Air and Space Museum's Trophy Award for Current Achievement"

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, its main building ...

. Retrieved March 8, 2021. *

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(Officer) (2010)"The French Legion Of Honor Presents Chesley Sullenberger With The Officier Award"

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (stylized as gettyimages) is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three mark ...

. December 17, 2010. * ''

''s 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons (2009) * Founders' Medal from the

Air League The Air League is an aviation and aerospace non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest provider of aviation and aerospace scholarships and bursaries. The Air League aims to inspire, enable, and support the next ...

(2009) * Master's Medal from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (2009, with Flight 1549 crew) * Key to the City from

(2009, with Flight 1549 crew) * Key to the Town from

(2009) *

Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...

' Hardball Award (2009) * Jabara Award (2009) *

Founders' Medal (2009)

Post-retirement

In 2010, Sullenberger retired after 30 years with US Airways and its predecessor. His final flight was US Airways Flight 1167 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he reunited with Skiles and a half dozen of the passengers on Flight 1549. Sullenberger works as an international lecturer and keynote speaker at educational institutions, corporations, and non-profit organizations about the importance of aviation and patient safety, high performance systems improvement, leadership and culture, risk and crisis management, lifelong preparation, and living a life of integrity. In 2011 he presented at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

in Davos and the Swiss Economic Forum. He served as the 2010

Tournament of Roses Parade A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

's Grand Marshal. Captain Sully Visits Ames

In December 2010, Sullenberger was appointed an Officer of France's

. He and the Flight 1549 crew received the Smithsonian

Trophy for Current Achievement in 2010. With coauthor

, Sullenberger wrote the 2009 bestselling memoir '' Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters''. In the book, Sullenberger also discussed personal matters, including his father's suicide in 1995, the Sullenbergers' struggle with infertility, and their decision to adopt."Capt. "Sully" Sullenberger Gets Personal"
CBS News. October 14, 2009.Sullenberger, Chesley (August 2014)
"The Devastating Impact of Suicide: My Personal Reflection"
sullysullenberger.com. In May 2011,

hired Sullenberger as an aviation and safety expert. From 2009 to 2013, Sullenberger and Skiles acted as the co-chairmen of the EAA's Young Eagles Program, which gives children the opportunity to experience flight and learn about

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

. Since its inception, the program has flown over 2 million kids and is the most successful of its kind. Through their participation and service to

, Sullenberger and Skiles received the EAA Freedom of Flight Award in 2015. Sullenberger's second book, ''Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders'', was released on May 15, 2012. In 2019 Sullenberger said that Boeing 737 MAX crashes "are demonstrable evidence that our current system of aircraft design and certification has failed us. These accidents should never have happened." He sharply criticized

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

and the

, saying that the overly "cozy relationship" between the aviation industry and government was evident in March 2019 when Boeing CEO

Dennis Muilenburg Dennis A. Muilenburg (born 1964) is an American engineer, business executive and a former president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Boeing, a multinational aerospace and defense company. He was CEO from 2015 to 2019, when he was fired in th ...

lobbied President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to prevent the 737 MAX 8 from being grounded.

Politics

In late October 2018, Sullenberger wrote an op-ed in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' ahead of the 2018 mid-term elections, calling on Americans to vote "for leaders who are committed to the values that will unite and protect us," who have a "moral compass ... competence, integrity, and concern for the greater good." In a subsequent interview with

Lawrence O'Donnell Lawrence Francis O'Donnell Jr. (born November 7, 1951) is an American television anchor, actor, author, screenwriter, liberal political commentator, and host of '' The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell'', an MSNBC opinion and news program that ...

, Sullenberger elaborated his position, discussing his belief that voters should act as a check and balance in a partisan government. He also wrote that he has been a registered Republican for the majority of his adult life but has "always voted as an American". In February 2020, Sullenberger endorsed former U.S. Vice President

for the presidency. In September 2020, he worked with Vote Vets and

The Lincoln Project The Lincoln Project is an American political action committee (PAC) founded in December 2019 by moderate conservatives and former Republican Party members who oppose U.S. President Donald Trump and Trumpism. During the 2020 presidential e ...

to create a commercial urging Americans to vote President

out of office.

Ambassadorship

On June 15, 2021, President Biden nominated Sullenberger to be the U.S. representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), with the rank of

. He was confirmed by the Senate via

voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...

on December 2, 2021. He presented his credentials to ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar Gómez on February 3, 2022, serving until July 1, 2022.

Personal life

Sullenberger mentioned a "short, childless" first marriage in his memoir. He married fitness instructor Lorraine "Lorrie" Henry in 1989. They adopted two daughters, Kate and Kelly. On December 7, 1995, Sullenberger's father died by suicide by gunshot shortly after he was released from the hospital following major surgery. He had been suffering from depression and a long and difficult

convalescence Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. Details It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a sou ...

. As a result of this, Sullenberger became a

suicide prevention Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public healt ...

activist, having promoted National Suicide Prevention Week and

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the United States, or Suicide Crisis Helpline in Canada, and formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, is a suicide prevention and crisis help line to a network of a large number of crisis ce ...

In popular culture

Radio personality

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

wrote "Pilot Song: The Ballad of Chesley Sullenberger III" for the January 17, 2009, edition of his radio variety show ''

A Prairie Home Companion ''A Prairie Home Companion'' was a weekly radio variety show created and hosted by Garrison Keillor that aired live from 1974 to 2016. In 2016, musician Chris Thile took over as host, and the successor show was eventually renamed ''Live from He ...

''. Sullenberger's speech before Congress concerning U.S. civil aviation is featured in

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

's 2009 documentary '' Capitalism: A Love Story''. Sullenberger is referenced in the 2011 romantic comedy film '' Friends with Benefits''. Throughout the film,

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

's character repeatedly suggests to people he meets aboard planes that modern airplanes practically fly themselves, and that Sullenberger's feat was less impressive than it was portrayed, an idea for which he encounters incredulity and hostility.

Mila Kunis Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and raised in Los Angeles, she was Jackie Burkhart on ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) and has voiced Meg Griffin on ''Family Guy'' since ...

's character is seen reading Sullenberger's

English Wikipedia The English Wikipedia is the primary English-language edition of Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia. It was created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger on 15 January 2001, as Wikipedia's first edition. English Wikipedia is hosted alongside o ...

article. The 2010 song "

A Real Hero "A Real Hero" is a song by French electronica artist College in collaboration with Electric Youth, released in 2010. The song was included as the eleventh track on Electric Youth's debut studio album '' Innerworld''. The track was used as a main ...

", by French electronica artist College and the band Electric Youth, is in part inspired by Captain Sullenberger and Flight 1549. Frontman Austin Garrick was inspired to write the song by his grandfather, whose reference to Sullenberger as "a real human being and a real hero" became the song's refrain. In 2010,

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, political commentator, actor, and television host. The long-running host of ''The Daily Show'' on Comedy Central from 1999 to 20 ...

, and

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Michael Scott in the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2011, 2013), and also worked at several points as a producer, executive producer, writer, a ...

released a comedy record called ''Everybody's Talking 'Bout Sully''. "Hudson River Runway", the March 14, 2011, episode of the TV series ''

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiz ...

'', documents the events around Flight 1549's emergency landing and includes interviews with several of its real-life participants. Sullenberger was not interviewed, but was portrayed in reenactments by actor Christopher Britton. Sullenberger is invited to the Smith household in season 7 of ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...

'' He is featured In the episode ''The Unbrave One'', Stan Smith using Sully as an example of a hero. The 2016 dramatic feature film '' Sully'' was adapted from Sullenberger's memoir ''Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters''. Directed by

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

and starring

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

as Sullenberger and

Aaron Eckhart Aaron Edward Eckhart (born March 12, 1968) is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. He began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his hi ...

as Skiles, it recreates the events around the Hudson River landing. Sullenberger appeared as himself in a cameo role in the 2017 film ''

Daddy's Home 2 ''Daddy's Home 2'' (titled on screen as ''Daddy's Home Two'') is a 2017 American Christmas buddy comedy film directed by Sean Anders and written by Anders and John Morris. A sequel to '' Daddy's Home'' (2015), it stars Will Ferrell, Mark Wahl ...

''. In season five, episode seven of the NBC comedy ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'' titled "Two Turkeys," (aired November 21, 2017) the character

Jake Peralta ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American sitcom which premiered in September 2013 on Fox, and later moved to NBC. The show revolves around the detective squad of the fictional 99th Precinct of the New York Police Department, located in Brooklyn. ...

's (portrayed by

Andy Samberg Andy Samberg (born David A. J. Samberg; August 18, 1978) is an American comedian, actor, musician, writer and producer. He is a member of the comedy music group the Lonely Island, along with childhood friends Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. ...

) father Roger Peralta (portrayed by

Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford (born October 10, 1959) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the NBC television political drama ''The West Wing'' (1999–2006), for which he ...

), a pilot, claims to have flown with Sullenberger. Later on, the character

Amy Santiago Amy Santiago is a fictional character who appears in police procedural comedy television series ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' (2013–2021). Portrayed by Melissa Fumero, she works as a detective at the New York Police Department in Brooklyn's fictio ...

's (portrayed by Melissa Fumero) father Victor Santiago (portrayed by

Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the legal drama ''L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the police drama ''NYPD Blue'', and Matt Santos on the political dr ...

) drunkenly tells a nurse that Roger Peralta taught Sullenberger how to fly. President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

's service dog Sully, who was assigned to Bush in June 2018 after the death of former First Lady

Barbara Bush Barbara Bush (; June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was the first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of the 41st president of the United States, George H. W. Bush. She was previously second lady of the United States fr ...

, was named after Sullenberger, and remained with the former president after Bush's November 2018 death, accompanying Bush's casket for its return to Washington, D.C. Sullenberger is featured in the 2020 pilot of the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

animated TV series ''Duncanville''. Sullenberger is featured in the 2021 ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'' episode ''And Then There's Fraud''. Quagmire buys a pilot's hat thinking it is Sullenberger's, having Sullenberger sign it at the end of the episode. Sullenberger appeared in the 2022 documentary film '' Downfall: The Case Against Boeing''. In the second season of the ABC sitcom ''

Abbott Elementary ''Abbott Elementary'' is an American mockumentary sitcom television series created by Quinta Brunson for ABC. It stars Brunson as Janine Teagues, a perpetually optimistic second-grade teacher at the underfunded Abbott Elementary, a fictional p ...

'', episode 6 features teacher Gregory Eddie dressed up as Sullenberger for Halloween. In the third episode of the second season of

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's '' The Rehearsal'',

Nathan Fielder Nathan Joseph Fielder (born May 12, 1983) is a Canadian comedian, actor, writer, director, producer, and pilot. He is known for his awkward persona and involvement in works blurring reality and perception. His accolades include an Independent S ...

portrays a fictional version of Sullenberger throughout his life.

References

External links

Sullenberger's official websiteUS Airways Flight 1549 NTSB reportHarry Walker Agency
; Sullenberger's speaker agency
Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger, III

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

* * *
''60 Minutes'' interview with Captain Sullenberger (requires subscription)
*Riley, Duncan (January 15, 2009)
"A320 Pilot Chesley Sullenberger's Other Jobs: Accident Investigator and Safety Lecturer"
TheInquisitr. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
Twitter Moment - Sullenberger's recollections of Flight 1549
ten years on {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullenberger, Chesley 1951 births Living people American aviation record holders American people of Swiss-German descent American United Methodists Aviators from Texas American commercial aviators Experimental Aircraft Association American glider pilots Mental health activists Officers of the Legion of Honour People from Danville, California People from Denison, Texas Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences alumni Recipients of the Jabara Award Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force officers University of Northern Colorado alumni Biden administration personnel US Airways Group Writers from California Permanent representatives of the United States to the International Civil Aviation Organization