Who Is The Hero Pilot That Saved 155 Lives?
Posted January 15, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There were 155 people on board that U.S. Airways Airbus when it hit the water in New York City on Thursday. One of them was a man with the unlikely name of Chesley B. Sullenberger, III (left).
He was the pilot of what at first appeared to be the doomed craft, after it apparently hit some birds shortly after takeoff. “Sully” as he’s known to acquaintances, is being credited with saving the lives of the other 154 onboard the jet, after he managed to make a picture perfect ditch into the frigid Hudson River.
Emergency workers sped to the scene and against all odds got everyone off in time. But it was Sully’s skill that made it possible.
Who is this quiet pilot with the skill and the nerves of steel? He’s a U.S. airline flyer with over 40 years of experience, a man in the right cockpit at just the right time.
Sullenberger is comfortable with everything from gliders and single engine aircraft to major jumbo jets. He’s flown Learjets, 737s, DC-9s and of course, the A320.
He’s served with the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot and worked as an instructor, teaching hundreds of others what he’s learned.
He’s the founder of Safety Reliability Methods, Inc., a firm designed to lend expertise in safety. “Many of these advances have their genesis in the ultra-safe world of commercial aviation,” their website reveals.
He was a visiting scholar at the University of Berkeley in California and a frequent guest speaker – and you can bet demands for his time are about to go way up.
And in an irony lost on few, he’s also been an accident investigator who’s looked into other mishaps involving aircraft, likely never dreaming he’d be the subject of one from the other side someday.
Photo courtesy: Safety Reliability Methods, Inc.
