Flight 1549 Pilot 'Trying to Forgive Myself'

Talks to Katie Couric for first post-crash interview

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 9, 2009 8:22 AM CST

(Newser) – Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger is often called a “hero” for successfully landing US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, but Sullenberger doesn’t feel like a hero. “One of the hardest things for me to do was to forgive myself for not having done something else. Something better,” he told Katie Couric last night on 60 Minutes, in his first major post-crash interview.

Landing the plane in the water wasn’t easy, but “I was sure I could do it,” he said. “In many ways, my entire life up to that moment had been a preparation to handle that particular moment.” When asked if he prayed at any point, Sullenberger replied, “I would imagine somebody in back was taking care of that for me while I was flying the airplane.”

[Images (2)]

[Videos (1)]

[Quotes (4)]

Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger is shown with Katie Couric at home in his kitchen in Danville, Calif., on Jan. 30, 2009, during his 60 Minutes interview. (AP Photo/CBS, Sam Painter)

Airline passengers wait to be rescued on the wings of a US Airways Airbus 320 jetliner that safely landed in the frigid waters of the Hudson River, after a flock of birds knocked out both its engines. (AP Photo/Steven Day)

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Katie Couric sits down with Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger (Watch CBS Videos Online)

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I had this expectation that my career would be one in which I didn't crash an airplane. - Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger

My initial reaction was one of disbelief. 'I can't belief this is happening. This doesn't happen to me.' - Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger

I knew immediately that this, unlike every other flight I'd had for 42 years, was probably not going to end with the airplane undamaged on the runway. - Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger

I needed to touch down with the wings exactly level. I needed to touch down with the nose slightly up. I needed to touch down at a descent rate that was survivable. And I needed to make all these things happen simultaneously. - Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger

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Flight 1549 Pilot 'Trying to Forgive Myself'