1. Sully Sullenberger is best known for his actions as captain of US Airways Flight 1549 on January 15,2009, when he ditched the plane, landing on the Hudson River after both engines were disabled by a bird strike.
55 Facts About Sully Sullenberger
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Sully Sullenberger retired from US Airways in 2010, after 30 years as a commercial pilot.
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Sully Sullenberger 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.
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Sully Sullenberger was ranked second in Times Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009, after Michelle Obama.
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Sully Sullenberger was confirmed by unanimous consent in the Senate and served in that role from February 3 to July 1,2022.
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Chesley Burnett Sully Sullenberger III was born January 23,1951, in Denison, Texas.
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Sully Sullenberger's father was a descendant of Swiss-German immigrants named Sollenberger.
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Sully Sullenberger went to school in Denison and was consistently on the 99th percentile in every academic category.
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Sully Sullenberger was an active member of the Waples Memorial United Methodist Church.
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Sully Sullenberger graduated from Denison High School in 1969, near the top of his class of about 350.
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At 16, Sully Sullenberger learned to fly in an Aeronca Champion 7DC at a private airstrip near his home.
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Sully Sullenberger said that the training he received from a local flight instructor influenced his aviation career.
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Sully Sullenberger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and basic sciences from the United States Air Force Academy.
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Sully Sullenberger earned a master's degree in industrial-organizational psychology from Purdue University in 1973 and a Master of Public Administration from University of Northern Colorado in 1979.
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Sully Sullenberger was appointed to the United States Air Force Academy, entering with the Class of 1973 in June 1969.
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Sully Sullenberger 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.
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Sully Sullenberger gained experience in Europe, the Pacific, and at Nellis Air Force Base, and operated as Blue Force mission commander in Red Flag Exercises.
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Sully Sullenberger worked for US Airways and its predecessor airlines from 1980 until 2010.
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Sully Sullenberger has been involved in a number of accident investigations conducted by the USAF and the National Transportation Safety Board, such as Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 and USAir Flight 1493.
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Sully Sullenberger served as an instructor, Air Line Pilots Association local air safety chairman, accident investigator, and national technical committee member.
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Sully Sullenberger 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.
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Sully Sullenberger was active with his union, serving as chairman of a safety committee within the Air Line Pilots Association.
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Sully Sullenberger was a featured speaker for two panels: one on aviation and one on patient safety in medicine, at the High Reliability Organizations 2007 International Conference in 2007.
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On January 15,2009, Sully Sullenberger was the captain of US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City bound for Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina.
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Quickly determining he would be unable to reach either LaGuardia or Teterboro Airports, Sully Sullenberger flew the plane to an emergency water landing on the Hudson River.
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Sully Sullenberger 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.
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US President George W Bush called Sullenberger to thank him for saving the lives of the passengers, as did President-elect Barack Obama, who invited him and the crew to join the presidential inauguration ceremony.
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Sully Sullenberger attended the presidential inauguration on January 20,2009, where he and his wife met President Obama.
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Sully Sullenberger was awarded with honorary lifetime membership in the Seaplane Pilots Association.
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In 2009, Sully Sullenberger was awarded the Founders' Medal by The Air League.
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Admirers of Sully Sullenberger started a Facebook fan site that, as of late February 2009, had half a million members.
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When Sully Sullenberger notified the library that the water-damaged book had been recovered, it made a point of waiving any late fees.
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Sully Sullenberger threw out the first pitch of the 2009 Major League Baseball season for the San Francisco Giants.
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On June 6,2009, Sully Sullenberger returned to Denison to participate in the town's D-Day celebration and to give the commencement address for his alma mater, marking the 40th anniversary of his graduation from the school.
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Sully Sullenberger 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.
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On February 24,2009, Sully Sullenberger testified before the US 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 guarantee worth only pennies on the dollar.
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In 2010, Sully Sullenberger retired after 30 years with US Airways and its predecessor.
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Sully Sullenberger served as the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade's Grand Marshal.
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In December 2010, Sully Sullenberger was appointed an Officer of France's Legion of Honour.
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Sully Sullenberger wrote that he has been a registered Republican for the majority of his adult life but has "always voted as an American".
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In February 2020, Sully Sullenberger endorsed former US Vice President Joe Biden for the presidency.
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On June 15,2021, President Biden nominated Sully Sullenberger to be the US representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, with the rank of ambassador.
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Sully Sullenberger was confirmed by the Senate via voice vote on December 2,2021.
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Sully Sullenberger presented his credentials to ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar Gomez on February 3,2022, serving until July 1,2022.
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Sully Sullenberger is married to fitness instructor Lorraine "Lorrie" Sully Sullenberger, with whom he adopted two daughters, Kate and Kelly.
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On December 7,1995, Sully Sullenberger's father died by suicide by gunshot shortly after he was released from the hospital following major surgery.
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Sully Sullenberger had been suffering from depression and a long and difficult convalescence.
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Sully Sullenberger is referenced in the 2011 romantic comedy film Friends with Benefits.
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Sully Sullenberger was not interviewed, but was portrayed in reenactments by actor Christopher Britton.
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The 2016 dramatic feature film Sully was adapted from Sullenberger's memoir Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters.
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Sully Sullenberger appeared as himself in a cameo role in the 2017 film Daddy's Home 2.
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Sully Sullenberger is featured in the 2020 pilot of the Fox animated TV series Duncanville.
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Sully Sullenberger is featured in the 2021 Family Guy episode And Then There's Fraud.
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Quagmire buys a pilot's hat thinking it is Sully Sullenberger's, having Sully Sullenberger sign it at the end of the episode.
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Sully Sullenberger appeared in the 2022 documentary film Downfall: The Case Against Boeing.