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Sully Sullenberger

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Chesley B. Sullenberger
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) 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 he has helped develop new protocols for airline safety.[6]

Early life and military career

Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III was born on January 23, 1951.[7] He was a schoolboy in Denison, Texas, and was consistently tested in the 99th percentile in every academic category.[8] At the age of 12, he had gained the level of IQ necessary to join Mensa International.[8] He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy (B.S.)[9] in 1973, after majoring in psychology and basic sciences and receiving a number of academic awards.[6] He served as a fighter pilot for the United States Air Force (USAF),[10] piloting F-4 Phantom IIs from 1973 to 1980.[11] 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.[11] During his time in the USAF he was a member of the official aircraft accident investigation board.[12]

Commercial pilot

He has been employed by US Airways since 1980.[13] In total, he has more than 40 years of flying experience, and since 2007[6] has led a safety consulting business he founded,[5] Safety Reliability Methods Inc.,[10]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 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.[10][13]. His safety work for the ALPA led to the development of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular.[11] He was also instrumental in developing and implementing the Crew Resource Management course that is used by his airline, and he has taught the course to hundreds of other airline members.[11]

Alongside NASA scientists, he coauthored a paper on error-inducing contexts in aviation.[11] He has gained 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.[12] 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".[12] Sullenberger has also been studying how to keep an airline crew functioning during a crisis.[14] 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.[15]

US Airways Flight 1549 afloat in the Hudson.

Shortly after 3:26 P.M. EST on January 15, 2009, he successfully piloted US Airways Flight 1549 to a safe ditching in the Hudson River in New York City.[16] All passengers and crew members survived.[16] The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, said that Sullenberger will receive keys to the city.[17] A fan club dedicated to Sullenberger was created with a website on Facebook within hours of the news.[14] The US President, George W. Bush, called Sullenberger to thank him for saving the lives of the passengers.[18]

Academic life

He is a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley Center for Catastrophic Risk Management.[3][11] Sullenberger also graduated from Purdue University (M.S.), where he received a masters in industrial psychology,[6] and the University of Northern Colorado (M.A.), gaining a masters in public administration.[6] He was also a speaker for two panels at the High Reliability Organizations (HRO) 2007 International Conference in Deauville, France from May 29-31, 2007.[11]

Personal life

He is married to Lorrie Sullenberger,[16] and they have two daughters[12] Katie and Kelly.[19]. He and his family live in Danville, CA.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Date of birth found on the Texas Births, 1926-1995, under SULLENBERGER, CHESLEY BURNETT, on 23 January 1951 in Texas.
  2. ^ "Conference Speakers". High Reliability Organizations, 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  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. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  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. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  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. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ "Denison Public Schools Cumulative Record" (Image). Fox News. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ a b "Hero Pilot's Records, IQ Scores Released by School District in 'Accident'". Fox News. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ "Safety Reliability Methods, Inc.: About us". Safety Reliability Methods, Inc. 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ a b c "Profile: Captain Chesley Sullenberger". BBC News. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "Chesley B. Sullenberger III". AccessInterviews. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ 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. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ a b "Captain's skill saved lives of everyone". The Herald (Glasgow). 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  14. ^ a b Westfeldt, Amy (2009-01-16). "Hudson River hero is ex-Air Force fighter pilot". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  15. ^ Federal Aviation Administration. "FAA Airman record for Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III". Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  16. ^ a b c "N.Y. jet crash called 'miracle on the Hudson'". MSNBC. 2009-01-15. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  17. ^ "NY mayor hails 'hero' crash pilot". BBC News. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  18. ^ "Bush salutes Hudson River pilot who landed plane". Associated Press. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-16. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  19. ^ 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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