Chesley Sullenberger, Hudson River Plane Crash Hero Pilot
Posted Jan 16, 2009 by Lindsay Britney
Meet Chesley Sullenberger, the US Airways Flight 1549 pilot now hailed as the hero for Hudson River Plane Crash.
Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III
Chesley ”Sully” Sullenberger, full name Chesley B. Sullenberger III, managed to avoid a disaster which could have implicated the Mahattan area to have a second 9/11 like airplane crash on January 15, 2009. The US Airways Flight 1549 he piloted was strucken by a frock of birds during the take-off from New York city’s LaGuardia Airport, which could effectively result in a lifes-claiming tragedy. However, Mr. Sullenberger bravely landed his engineless jet onto the Hudson River in the emergency and help safely evacuate all the passengers and air crew onboard. My Salute!
If you could choose a pilot to crash-land your plane, Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger III would be a good choice.
Capt Sullenberger, 57, who ditched US Airlines Flight 1549 safely into the Hudson River in New York, has over 40 years of flying experience [...]
Less than a minute after his Airbus A320 to Charlotte, North Carolina, took off, Capt Sullenberger reported a “double bird strike” and asked to return to the ground, an air controllers union spokesman said.
According to air traffic controllers, an “eerie calm” defined their communications with the cockpit as their options dwindled and the pilot decided to ditch into the Hudson, a union official told Reuters news agency.
Incredibly, Capt Sullenberger managed to land the aircraft safely on the water.
Mayor Bloomberg said that the pilot told him that the captain then “walked the plane twice after everybody else was off and tried to verify that there was nobody else onboard”. [BBC]
From take-off to crash, Mr. Chesley Sullenberger III had only five minutes to handle with:
2009 January 15’s US Airways Flight 1549 Hudson River Plane Crash Illustration Map (BBC)
Links: Chesley Sullenberger III Biography; Photos Gallery of Hudson River Plane Crash at New York Daily News; Incredible story of some emotional US Airways Flight 1549 passengers (w/ picture) at Dailymail.
#Permalink Tags: Accidents, New York, Plane Crash, US Airways
