Pilot Gets Hero's Welcome

Cool-headed captain has advised NASA, FAA

(NEWSER) - The US Airways pilot who saved the lives of his passengers and crew in yesterday’s crash landing was perfectly suited to the job: he’s a certified glider pilot and runs a safety company, the New York Post reports. After an apparent bird strike disabled the plane’s engines, the aircraft essentially became a glider, which Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenburger III guided into the Hudson River. More»

'Thank you' inadequate for speedy rescuers, says Sully

(NEWSER) - The moments after the engines of US Airways Flight 1549 died were the worst of his life, hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger tells Katie Couric in a 60 Minutes interview to air Monday. Disbelief was followed by a "sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling," as an eerie silence and a disturbing smell filled the plane, he recalled. More»

Restocked ethics tome to be dedicated to Sully

(NEWSER) - Hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger's local library has told him not to worry about a borrowed book stuck in the hold of US Airways Flight 1549 that crashed in the Hudson River, AP reports. After he contacted the library to ask for an extension, the staff not only waived all overdue and replacement fees, but will dedicate the restocked volume to Sullenberger. Its subject? Professional ethics. More»

US Airways pilot the first in over 50 years to land a jet on water without fatalities

(NEWSER) - The pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 is being praised for pulling off one of the rarest and most challenging maneuvers in aviation, the Wall Street Journal reports. Chesley Sullenberger is the first pilot in over 50 years to land a jetliner on water without a single fatality, and he managed to do so while coping with multiple other challenges. More»

(NEWSER) - A portrait of a hero is emerging from today's jet crash on the Hudson. The pilot, 57-year-old Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, is drawing praise not only for his "masterful" landing without engines but for his calm actions afterward to make sure his passengers were OK, the Daily News reports. "He was the last one off the plane," said Mayor Bloomberg, noting that Sullenberger walked the aisles twice to make sure everyone had gotten out. More»