Chesley Sullenberger

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Chesley Sullenberger
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Sullenberger in January 2009
Full name Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III
Born (1951-01-23) January 23, 1951 (age 73)
Denison, Texas, U.S.
Spouse Lorraine "Lorrie" Sullenberger
Aviation career
Known for Captain of an Airbus A320 which he successfully landed on the Hudson River.
Famous flights US Airways Flight 1549
Air force  United States Air Force
Rank US Air Force O3 shoulderboard rotated.svg Captain
Awards Time magazine's "100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons" (2009),
Master's Medal from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators,
Key to the City from the City of New York,
Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship and Jabara Award for Airmanship from the United States Air Force Academy
Chris Matthews' The Hardball Award
Officier of the Légion d'honneur

Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III (born January 23, 1951)[1] is a retired American airline captain celebrated for the January 15, 2009 water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan after the plane was disabled by striking a flock of Canada geese immediately after takeoff; all 155 people aboard survived. Sullenberger is an international speaker on airline safety[2] and has helped develop new protocols for airline safety. He served as the co-chairman, along with First Officer Jeffrey Skiles, of the EAA's Young Eagles youth introduction-to-aviation program from 2009 to 2013.[3] He retired from US Airways after 30 years as a commercial pilot on March 3, 2010.[4] In May of the following year, Sullenberger was hired by CBS News as an Aviation and Safety Expert.[5]

He is the co-author, with Jeffrey Zaslow, 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, published in 2009 by HarperCollins. His second book, Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders, was published in May 2012. He was ranked second in Time's "Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009", after Michelle Obama.[6]

Early life

Chesley Sullenberger was born in Denison, Texas, the son of Marjorie Pauline (Hanna), an elementary school teacher, and Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, a dentist.[7] His father was a descendant of Swiss-German immigrants named Sollenberger.[8] He has one sister, Mary Wilson. The street on which he grew up in Denison was named after his mother's family, the Hannas. According to his sister, Sullenberger built model planes and aircraft carriers during his childhood, and says he became interested in flying after seeing military jets from an Air Force base near his house.[9] He went to school in Denison, and was consistently on the 99th centile in every academic category.[10]

At the age of 12, his IQ was deemed high enough to join Mensa International.[10] In high school, he was the president of the Latin club,[11] a first chair flautist,[11] and an honor student.[11] His high school friends have said that Sullenberger developed a passion for flying from watching jets based out of Perrin Air Force Base.[9] He was an active member of the Waples Memorial United Methodist Church in Denison,[12] and graduated from Denison High School in 1969,[11] near the top of his class of about 350.[9] At 16, Sullenberger learned to fly in an Aeronca 7DC from a private airstrip near his home. He said the training he received from a local flight instructor grounded his aviation career for the rest of his life.

Education

Sully Sullenberger holds a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Sullenberger also holds a Master's degree in Industrial Psychology from Purdue University and a master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Northern Colorado.[13]

Military service

Sullenberger's 1973 Air Force Academy senior class photo

Sullenberger was appointed to the United States Air Force Academy, 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.[9] In the year of his graduation, 1973, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship award, as the class "top flyer". Following graduation with a Bachelor of Science and his commissioning as an officer, the Air Force immediately sent Sullenberger to Purdue University to pursue a master's degree prior to entering Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT).[14]

Following completion of his graduate degree at Purdue, he was assigned to UPT at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, flying the T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon. After earning his wings in 1975 as a USAF Pilot, he completed replacement training in the F-4 Phantom II at Luke AFB, Arizona. This was followed by his assignment to the 493d Tactical Fighter Squadron of 48th Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, where he flew as a United States Air Force fighter pilot[15] 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.[16][17] He advanced to become a flight leader and a training officer, and attained the rank of captain,[13] with experience in Europe, the Pacific, and at Nellis Air Force Base, as well as operating as Blue Force Mission Commander in Red Flag Exercises.[17] While in the Air Force, he was a member of an aircraft accident investigation board.[18]

Civil aviation career

Sullenberger was employed by US Airways and its predecessor airlines from 1980 until 2010.[4][19][20] (Pacific Southwest Airlines was acquired by US Air, later US Airways, in 1988.) He holds an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate for single and multi-engine airplanes, and a Commercial Pilot Certificate rating in gliders, as well as a flight instructor certificate for airplanes (single, multi-engine, and instrument), and gliders.[21] In total, he has more than 40 years and 20,000 hours of flying experience. In 2007[13] 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.[22]

He has also been involved in a number of accident investigations conducted by the USAF and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), such as Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 and USAir Flight 1493.[23] He served as an instructor, Air Line Pilots Association Local Air Safety Chairman, accident investigator, and national technical committee member.[15][24] His safety work for ALPA led to the development of a Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular.[17] He was instrumental in developing and implementing the Crew Resource Management course that is used by US Airways, and he has taught the course to hundreds of airline crew members.[17][25]

Working with NASA scientists, he coauthored a paper on error-inducing contexts in aviation.[17] He was an air accident investigator for an NTSB inquiry into a major accident at Los Angeles International Airport, which "led to improved airline procedures and training for emergency evacuations of aircraft".[18] Sullenberger has also been studying the psychology behind keeping an airline crew functioning during a crisis.[26]

Sullenberger was active with his union, serving as chairman of a safety committee within the Air Line Pilots Association.[27]

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 Deauville, France, from May 29 to 31, 2007.[28]

Flight 1549

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Main article: US Airways Flight 1549
US Airways Flight 1549 afloat in the Hudson River.

On January 15, 2009, Sullenberger was pilot in command of a US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 taking off from LaGuardia Airport.[29] Shortly after takeoff, the plane struck a large flock of birds and lost power in both engines.[30] Quickly determining he would be unable to reach any airport[31] Sullenberger piloted the plane to a water landing on the Hudson River. All aboard were rescued by nearby boats.[32]

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."[33] Sullenberger was the last to leave the aircraft, after making sure all passengers and crew had escaped.[9][34]

Sullenberger, described by friends as "shy and reticent,"[35] was noted for his poise and calm during the crisis; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg dubbed him "Captain Cool."[36] Nonetheless, Sullenberger suffered symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in subsequent weeks, including sleeplessness and flashbacks.[37] He said that the moments before the ditching were "the worst sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling" that he had ever experienced.[38] 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."[39]

The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that Sullenberger made the correct decision in landing on the river instead of attempting return to LaGuardia [40] because the normal procedures for engine loss are designed for cruising altitudes, not immediately after takeoff. Simulations showed that Flight 1549 could have barely made it back to LaGuardia had that maneuver begun immediately after the bird strike, but this scenario completely neglects the time needed to understand what had happened and assess the situation.[41][42]

Post-flight accolades and publicity

U.S. President George W. Bush called Sullenberger to thank him for saving the lives of the passengers,[43] as did President-elect Barack Obama,[44] who also invited him and the crew to join the presidential inauguration ceremony.[45] On January 16, 2009, the United States Senate passed a resolution recognizing and honoring Sullenberger, Skiles, the cabin crew, the passengers, and the first responders involved in Flight 1549's emergency landing.[46] The United States House of Representatives passed a similar resolution on January 26, 2009.[47]

Sullenberger attended the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2009, where he and his wife met President Obama.[37] 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.[48] A ceremony for Sullenberger was held on January 24, 2009 in Sullenberger's hometown of Danville, California, where he was presented with awards including Danville's "Key to the Town",[35] and was named an honorary Danville police officer.[49]

San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District Chief Richard Price presented Captain Sullenberger with his district's highest award, the Medal of Valor,[50] which has been given only a few times in the district's history.[51] 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 pre-game ceremony on February 1, 2009.[52] Sullenberger was awarded with honorary lifetime membership in The Seaplane Pilot's Association.[53][54] In 2009, Sullenberger was awarded the Founders' Medal by The Air League.[55] Admirers of Sullenberger also started a Facebook fan site that, as of late February 2009, had half a million members.[37]

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.[56][57][58]

Sullenberger threw out the first pitch of the 2009 Major League Baseball season for the San Francisco Giants. His Giants' jersey was inscribed with the name "Sully" and the number 155—a reference to the 155 people aboard the plane.[59]

On June 6, 2009, Sullenberger returned to his childhood hometown of Denison, Texas, to participate in that town's D-Day celebration, and to give the commencement address for his alma mater, Denison High School, marking the 40th anniversary of his own graduation from the school.[60]

Sullenberger also made an appearance in St. Louis, Missouri 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's Subcommittee on Aviation of the Committee on Transportation & 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 guarantee worth only pennies on the dollar.[61] 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."[62] Sullenberger also mentioned his pay cut in an October 13, 2009 appearance on The Daily Show.

In 2009, and again in 2015, Sullenberger filmed a TV commercial as a spokesman for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.[63]

Retirement and subsequent career

After 30 years with US Airways and its predecessor, Sullenberger retired in 2010. His final flight was US Airways Flight 1167 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was reunited with his copilot Jeff Skiles and a half dozen of the passengers on Flight 1549.[62] He was also the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade's Grand Marshal.[64]

On November 18, 2011, as part of a fundraising effort, Sullenberger flew to the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the aircraft he landed on the Hudson River is on exhibit.[65]

Sullenberger at the LIONS World Convention 2010 in Sydney

In December 2010, Sullenberger was appointed an Officer of the Legion of Honour.[66][67]

With coauthor Jeffrey Zaslow, Sullenberger wrote the 2009 bestselling memoir Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters. In the book, Sullenberger also discusses personal matters including his father's suicide in 1995, the Sullenbergers' struggle with infertility, and their decision to adopt.[68][69]

Sullenberger's second book, Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders, was released on May 15, 2012.

In May 2011, CBS News hired Sullenberger as an aviation and safety expert.[5]

Personal life

Sullenberger is married to fitness instructor Lorraine "Lorrie" Sullenberger,[32] with whom he has two daughters,[18] Kate and Kelly.[70] The Sullenbergers reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.

On December 7, 1995, Sullenberger's father committed suicide by gunshot shortly after being released from the hospital for major surgery. He had been suffering from depression in the face of a long and difficult convalescence ahead of him. He left no note. As a result of this, Sullenberger became a suicide prevention activist, having promoted National Suicide Prevention Week and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.[68][69]

In October 2009, it was reported that the Republican Party had approached Sullenberger about running against Democratic U.S. Representative Jerry McNerney of California's 11th congressional district in the 2010 elections. Sullenberger's publicist said that Sullenberger had no desire to run for any public office.[71]

In popular culture

The 2010 song "A Real Hero", by French electronica artist College and the band Electric Youth, is about Captain Sullenberger and the Flight 1549 water landing. 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.[72] The song grew to greater prominence after being featured in the 2011 film Drive, and was subsequently covered by the L.A. synth-based band Smallpools and released to critical acclaim in May 2015.

Humorist and radio personality Garrison Keillor wrote "Pilot Song: The Ballad of Chesley Sullenberger III" for the January 17, 2009 edition of his radio variety show A Prairie Home Companion.

Sullenberger's speech in Congress concerning U.S. civil aviation is featured in Michael Moore's 2009 documentary Capitalism: A Love Story. Sullenberger is also referred to in the 2011 romantic comedy film Friends with Benefits. Throughout the film, Justin Timberlake'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; he encountered incredulity and hostility for this idea. Mila Kunis' character is also seen reading Sullenberger's English Wikipedia article.[73][74][75]

"Hudson River Runway", the March 14, 2011 episode of the TV series Mayday, documents the events around Flight 1549's emergency landing, and contains interviews with several of its real-life participants. Captain Sullenberger is not interviewed in the show, but is portrayed in reenactments by actor Christopher Britton.[76]

Flight 1549 is referred to in episodes of the TV series Law and Order: SVU and House, MD.

An animated version of Sullenberger appeared in "The Unbrave One", the January 8, 2012 episode of the animated TV show American Dad![77] Sullenberger is referenced in "The Hero", the August 11, 2011, episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Matt Damon portrays an airline pilot in the February 10, 2011 episode of the NBC TV comedy 30 Rock, in which he brags that a great pilot like himself does not land on the Hudson River but avoids hitting birds altogether.[78]

A Z Nation episode has a character flying a small airplane that needs to land near a city with no nearby airport, and so declares, "I'm gonna set her down on the river, Sully Sullenberger Style".

The 2016 dramatic feature film Sully[79] was adapted from Sullenberger's memoir Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters. Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks as Chesley Sullenberger,[80] it recreates the events around the Hudson River landing.

The Airbus A320 is occasionally and casually referred to as "Sully's Ark" by aviators, out of respect for Flight 1549's long water float-time and the zero fatalities in the incident.[citation needed]

References

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External links

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