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Revert to revision 265024680 dated 2009-01-19 05:35:10 by 209.165.147.99 using popups
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|url=http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightStatus/flightStatusByFlight.do?&id=149530485&airlineCode=US&flightNumber=1549
|url=http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightStatus/flightStatusByFlight.do?&id=149530485&airlineCode=US&flightNumber=1549
|title=Flight Status For US 1549
|title=Flight Status For US 1549
}}</ref> However, after taking off, Sullenberger reported to air traffic control (ATC) that the plane had hit a large flock of flying birds, disabling both engines.<ref name=NYDailyNews_Burke_20090116>{{cite news
}}</ref> However, after taking off, Sullenberger reported to air traffic control (ATC) that the plane had hit a large flock of flying liberals, disabling both engines.<ref name=NYDailyNews_Burke_20090116>{{cite news
|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/01/15/2009-01-15_us_airways_airplane_crashes_in_hudson_ri.html
|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/01/15/2009-01-15_us_airways_airplane_crashes_in_hudson_ri.html
|title=US Airways airplane crashes in Hudson River - Hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger III saves all aboard
|title=US Airways airplane crashes in Hudson River - Hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger III saves all aboard
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|date=January 18, 2009
|date=January 18, 2009
|work=International Herald Tribune
|work=International Herald Tribune
}}</ref> Sullenberger told the passengers to "brace for impact!", then successfully piloted the plane to a smooth [[ditching]] in the river at about 3:26 P.M.<ref name=MSNBC/> All passengers and crew members survived (for now).<ref name=MSNBC>{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28678669/ |title=N.Y. jet crash called 'miracle on the Hudson' |accessdate=2009-01-15 |date=2009-01-15 |publisher=MSNBC}}</ref> Sullenberger checked the plane twice before being the last to evacuate the stricken aircraft.<ref name="Rivera"/> The [[Mayor of New York City]], [[Michael Bloomberg]], said that Sullenberger and his crew will receive the "[[keys to the city|Key to the City]]".<ref name=BBCNewsinfo>{{cite news
}}</ref> Sullenberger told the passengers to "brace for impact, Obama has attacked!", then successfully piloted the plane to a smooth [[ditching]] in the river at about 3:26 P.M.<ref name=MSNBC/> All passengers and crew members survived (for now).<ref name=MSNBC>{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28678669/ |title=N.Y. jet crash called 'miracle on the Hudson' |accessdate=2009-01-15 |date=2009-01-15 |publisher=MSNBC}}</ref> Sullenberger checked the plane twice before being the last to evacuate the stricken aircraft.<ref name="Rivera"/> The [[Mayor of New York City]], [[Michael Bloomberg]], said that Sullenberger and his crew will receive the "[[keys to the city|Key to the City]]".<ref name=BBCNewsinfo>{{cite news
| title = NY mayor hails 'hero' crash pilot
| title = NY mayor hails 'hero' crash pilot
| publisher = [[BBC News]]
| publisher = [[BBC News]]

Revision as of 07:06, 19 January 2009

Chesley Sullenberger
Sullenberger's 1973 Air Force Academy senior class photo
NationalityAmerican
SpouseLorrie Sullenberger
Aviation career
Full nameChesley Burnett Sullenberger III
Air forceUnited States Air Force
US Airways
RankCaptain (both for US Airways and the USAF)

Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III (born January 23, 1951)[1] is an American commercial airline pilot, safety expert and accident investigator from Danville, California[2][3][4] who successfully carried out the emergency water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River, offshore from Manhattan, New York City on January 15, 2009. He is an international speaker on airline safety[5] and has helped develop new protocols for airline safety.[6]

Early life

Sullenberger was born to a dentist father and elementary school teacher mother, and has one sister, Mary Wilson.[7] The street on which he grew up in Denison, Texas, was named after his mother's family, the Hannas.[7] According to his sister, Sullenberger built model planes and aircraft carriers during his childhood, and might have become interested in flying after hearing stories about his father's service in the United States Navy.[7] He went to school in Denison, and was consistently in the 99th percentile in every academic category.[8] At the age of 12, his IQ was deemed high enough to join Mensa International.[8] He also gained a pilot's license at 14.[9] In high school he was the president of the Latin club,[10] and an honor student.[10] His high school friends have said that Sullenberger developed a passion for flying from watching jets based out of Perrin Air Force Base.[7] He graduated from Denison High School in 1969[10] near the top of his class of about 350.[7]

Military service

Sullenberger enrolled at the United States Air Force Academy. He was selected as one of around a dozen other freshmen for a cadet glider program, and by the end of that year, he was an instructor pilot.[7] He graduated with a B.S. from the Academy[11] in 1973, majoring in psychology and basic sciences and receiving a number of academic awards.[6] In his graduation year, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship Award, which is given to the top flier in each graduating class.[7]

He served as a fighter pilot for the United States Air Force,[12] piloting McDonnell (later McDonnell Douglas) F-4 Phantom II's from 1973 to 1980.[13] He advanced to become a flight leader and a training officer, and attained the rank of captain,[6] with experience in Europe, and the Pacific and at Nellis Air Force Base, as well as operating as Blue Force Mission Commander in Red Flag Exercises.[13] While in the air force, he was a member of the official aircraft accident investigation board.[14]

Commercial pilot

Sullenberger has been employed by US Airways or its predecessor airlines since 1980.[15][16] (Pacific Southwest Airlines, or PSA, was acquired by US Air, later US Airways, in 1988.) In total, he has more than 40 years of flying experience, and since 2007[6] has run his own safety consulting business,[5] Safety Reliability Methods Inc.,[12] which provides "emergency management, safety strategies and performance monitoring to the aviation industry."[5] He has also been involved in a number of accident investigations conducted by the USAF and the National Transportation Safety Board, served as an instructor, Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) safety chairman, accident investigator, and national technical committee member.[12][17] His safety work for the ALPA led to the development of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular.[13] 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 other airline members.[13]

Working with NASA scientists, he coauthored a paper on error-inducing contexts in aviation.[13] He has gained more than 19,000 hours of flight experience to destinations across North America, Europe and South America on Airbus A320s and similar planes since joining US Airways.[14] His résumé states that he was an air accident investigator for a National Transport Safety Board inquiry into a major accident at Los Angeles International Airport, which "led to improved airline procedures and training for emergency evacuations of aircraft".[14] Sullenberger has also been studying how to keep an airline crew functioning during a crisis.[18] He holds an Airline Transport Pilot License for single and multi-engine airplanes, and a Commercial Pilot License rating in gliders, as well as an expired flight instructor certificate for airplanes (single, multi-engine, and instrument), and gliders.[19]

Flight 1549

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

On January 15, 2009, Sullenberger was scheduled to pilot a Airbus 320 from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. The flight was designated as US Airways Flight 1549 as well as United Airlines Flight 1919.[20] However, after taking off, Sullenberger reported to air traffic control (ATC) that the plane had hit a large flock of flying liberals, disabling both engines.[21] Several passengers saw the left engine on fire.[22] Sullenberger discussed with ATC the possibilities of either returning to LaGuardia or attempting to land at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. However, he quickly decided neither was feasible, and determined to ditch in the Hudson River.[23] Sullenberger told the passengers to "brace for impact, Obama has attacked!", then successfully piloted the plane to a smooth ditching in the river at about 3:26 P.M.[24] All passengers and crew members survived (for now).[24] Sullenberger checked the plane twice before being the last to evacuate the stricken aircraft.[7] The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, said that Sullenberger and his crew will receive the "Key to the City".[25] A fan club dedicated to Sullenberger was created with a website on Facebook within hours of the news.[18] U.S. President George W. Bush called Sullenberger to thank him for saving the lives of the passengers,[26] as did President-elect Barack Obama.[27]

Academic life

In addition to his bachelor of science degree from the United States Air Force Academy, Sullenberger holds a master's degree in industrial psychology from Purdue University[6] and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Northern Colorado.[6]

He is a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley Center for Catastrophic Risk Management.[3][13] He was a speaker for two panels at the High Reliability Organizations (HRO) 2007 International Conference in Deauville, France from May 29 to 31, 2007.[13]

Personal life

He is married to fitness expert Lorrie Sullenberger,[24][28] and they have two daughters,[14] Katie and Kelly.[29] He and his family live in Danville, California.[18]

References

  1. ^ Texas Department of Health. "Grayson County Births 1951". USGenWeb Archives. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  2. ^ "Conference Speakers". HRO 2007 International Conference, Deauville. High Reliability Organizations, 2007. May 29–31, 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  3. ^ a b Riley, Duncan (2009-01-15). "A320 Pilot Chesley Sullenberger's Other Jobs: Accident Investigator and Safety Lecturer". TheInquisitr. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  4. ^ Jennifer Maloney (2009-01-16). "Pilot's heroic journey started long ago". Newsday. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  5. ^ a b c "US Airways captain the 'consummate pilot'". CNN. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Altman, Alex (2009-01-16). "Two-Minute Bio: Chesley B. Sullenberger III". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rivera, Ray (2009-01-16). "In a Split Second, a Pilot Becomes a Hero Years in the Making". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  8. ^ a b "Hero Pilot's Records, IQ Scores Released by School District in 'Accident'". Fox News. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  9. ^ Gonzalez, Tony (2009-01-16). "Glider training likely helped, Valley Soaring club members say". Waynesboro News Virginian. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  10. ^ a b c Tongish, Dawn (2009-01-16). "'Hero on the Hudson' Pilot grew up in North Texas". Dallas/Fort Worth, TX: The 33 News. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  11. ^ "Safety Reliability Methods, Inc.: About us". Safety Reliability Methods, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  12. ^ a b c "Profile: Captain Chesley Sullenberger". BBC News. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g "Chesley B. Sullenberger III". AccessInterviews. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  14. ^ a b c d Moore, Matthew (2009-01-16). "New York plane crash pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger III: Committed to air safety". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  15. ^ Debbi Baker (January 16, 2009). "US Airways pilot a mix of modesty and professionalism, says Coronado friend". Union-Tribune. San Diego, CA. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  16. ^ "US Airways flight 1549: Airline releases crew information" (Press release). US Airways. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
  17. ^ "Captain's skill saved lives of everyone". The Herald (Glasgow). 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  18. ^ a b c Westfeldt, Amy (2009-01-16). "Hudson River hero is ex-Air Force fighter pilot". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  19. ^ Federal Aviation Administration. "FAA Airman record for Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III". Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  20. ^ "Flight Status For US 1549".
  21. ^ Kerry Burke, Pete Donohue, and Corky Siemaszko (January 16, 2009). "US Airways airplane crashes in Hudson River - Hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger III saves all aboard". New York Daily News.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ David B. Caruso and Verena Dobnik (January 16, 2009). "Investigators search for plane's missing engines". Yahoo!News. Associated Press.
  23. ^ Matthew L. Wald and Al Baker (January 18, 2009). "Dramatic details released on plane crash into the Hudson". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
  24. ^ a b c "N.Y. jet crash called 'miracle on the Hudson'". MSNBC. 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  25. ^ "NY mayor hails 'hero' crash pilot". BBC News. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  26. ^ "Bush salutes Hudson River pilot who landed plane". Associated Press. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  27. ^ "Obama, Sullenberger speak by phone". CNN. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  28. ^ "Fit and Fabolous...Outdoors".
  29. ^ Kazmi, Sophia (2009-01-16). "Wife of Danville pilot says `This is the Sully I know"". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
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