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Uploaded: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 5:15 PM
Updated: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 11:12 PM
Danville pilot being hailed as hero
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by Geoff Gillette
Photos
 
| Quick thinking by Danville resident Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was credited with saving the lives of the passengers of US Airways Flight 1549 today after the plane struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff causing both engines to malfunction and the plane to dive into the Hudson River.
His neighbor, Jane Garcia, who is also a friend of the family and has known them for five years, said, "It's not surprising – he's a great guy. He's extremely intelligent, very conscientious, his whole family is like that."
Sullenberger was flying a US Airways Airbus, which had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport on its way to Charlotte, N.C. The crash occurred at 3:26 p.m. eastern time, going down in the river near 48th street in midtown Manhattan.
It is believed the plane struck a flock of geese, a hazard which is known to have been responsible for several plane crashes over the years.
When the engines failed, Sullenberger guided the plane to a landing in the nearby Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew were able to be safely offloaded from the airplane. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg credited Sullenberger with a masterful job of piloting and said the pilot walked the plane twice to make sure that all passengers got off the aircraft to safety.
Witnesses say Sullenberger performed a "three point" landing into the Hudson. Quick action by emergency officials is also credited for the safety of the passengers and crew as ferries were able to reach the plane quickly and offload the passenger before the plane sank into the freezing waters.
Only minor injuries were reported in the crash landing, with victims treated for hypothermia, bruises and abrasions. New York Gov. David Paterson is referring to the crash as "The Miracle on the Hudson," and Sullenberger himself as "The Hero of the Hudson."
Sullenberger is a pilot with more than 40 years of flying experience, 29 of those years with US Airways. He is a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and has served as an instructor and Air Line Pilots Association Safety Chairman, accident investigator and national technical committee member.
He is currently the CEO and president of Safety Reliability Methods Inc. in Danville. On the company's Web site, it reads "Safety Reliability Methods, Inc. (SRM) was created to apply the latest advances in safety and high performance and high reliability processes to organizations in a variety of fields.
"I didn't know he was an aviation expert. It's pretty amazing," said Jane Garcia's husband, John, outside their home tonight.
John added, "I fly all the time and I never really had a good appreciation for what pilots do. But now I'm going to have a lot more respect for what they do."
Another neighbor, Frank Salzmann, said he thought of Sullenberger when he heard of the crash. "I knew that was a route Sully flew," he said.
Salzmann described Sullenberger as a man of solid character, calm and controlled. Exactly the sort of person he'd want at the helm in an emergency. "He's just the kind of person you'd think could pull something like that off," Salzmann said.
Around 7:30 p.m. Jim Walberg, a family friend, came out of the Sullenberger's home to tell reporters that Lorrie Sullenberger, Sully's wife, would not be making a statement tonight.
Walberg talked to reporters for a few minutes and responded to one reporter's use of the word "hero" to describe his friend. "'Hero.' It's not a name he will take to very easily. He was just doing his job."
He added, "All the stuff they're (pilots) trained to do, it's almost impossible that a pilot will ever have an incident like this in their entire life. He was just the right guy at the right time."
Lorrie Sullenberger had talked earlier to CNN, which quoted her saying, "When he called me, he said, 'There's been an accident.' At first I thought it was something minor. But then he told me the circumstances, and my body started shaking and I rushed to get our daughters out of school." She said she'd heard about the crash on television but didn't realize it was her husband's flight.
US Airways CEO Doug Parker issued a statement on the crash on the company's Web site before boarding a plane to New York. He explained that a US Airways team would be working with the passengers, crew and their families. He also reiterated their concern over the safety of their passengers.
"Safety is, has been and forever will be our foremost priority. All of us at US Airways are committed to determining the cause of this event and to assist in every way possible in preventing a similar occurrence," Parker stated.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash of Flight 1549.
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| Comments
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Posted by Natalie, a resident of the San Ramon neighborhood, on Jan 15, 2009 at 6:12 pm Way to go! This guy deserves a key to the city or something! What a heroic
Quick thinking guy!
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Posted by Amazed, a resident of another community, on Jan 15, 2009 at 7:41 pm This is incredible! I have watched the news footage online and heard the reports of the passengers, eyewitnesses and officials. Had a less-skilled, less-calm pilot been at the helm, the incident could have been a horrific disaster.
Danville should be proud of its hometown hero.
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Posted by Danville Counseling, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Jan 16, 2009 at 7:46 am Talk about keeping your wit's about you. I would love to hear more about how he handled himself emotionally during this dire situation. He is a teacher to us all.
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Posted by Donna Wagner, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Jan 16, 2009 at 9:07 am Thank you for your heroism, strength. We have all benefitted from your example. May God continue to bless you, your family, and all those who were with you yesterday.
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Posted by Lee & Linda, a resident of another community, on Jan 16, 2009 at 9:47 am "Sully" - After watching and reading the reports, I am convinced that your performance in the face of such panic and fear was truly amazing. When you were able to overcome your own terror, and land that plane, it gave hope and reassurance to the crew and passengers that they would survive. They were able to do their jobs because you did such a remarkable job of landing them safely in the water. Thank God for you, Capt Sullenberger!
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Posted by Ramon Perez Sr., a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Jan 16, 2009 at 1:28 pm Mr. Sullenberger, I sallute you for your humble yet heroic actions you demonstrated yesterday on the Hudson River. Hope your our pilot when we fly the skies. God Bless you always.
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Posted by Paul R, a resident of another community, on Jan 16, 2009 at 1:33 pm Thanks Sully for saving al the lives. God Bless You and your family!
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Posted by Mike Conklin, a resident of the San Ramon neighborhood, on Jan 16, 2009 at 3:30 pm We're all very proud of you. You are a credit to your profession
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Posted by Barry, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Jan 16, 2009 at 4:18 pm Im an FAA Air Traffic Controller who grew up in Danville, attended John Baldwin, Charlotte Wood, San Ramon High....aswell as being from the same hometown as "Sully" I also share the bond with him as a United States Air Force Veteran. I am so very proud of him and his amazing perseverance in the face of danger. Good for you mate!!!!
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Posted by Marv Jasper, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Jan 16, 2009 at 7:18 pm In a time of great financial pain, dislocation in international experience, care for our fellow citizens, and general despair, "Sully" Sullenberger has shown us that hope is a reality, heroism is not a fiction, and that our American spirit endures.
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Posted by Dr. S. S.Bhattacharzi, a resident of another community, on Jan 17, 2009 at 2:41 am An Amazing Act. Unbelieable performance of a veteran.
A hardson of mother earth has landed on hudson stage safely with shouldering unparellel responsibility.
An ultimate count of experience.
I salute you MR. Sullenberger III
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Posted by Dave Burkhardt, a resident of another community, on Jan 19, 2009 at 11:39 am Please allow me to utilized your fine website and ask you to pass along my personal congratulations to Captain Sullenberger and his entire crew for the superb airmanship exhibited during their recent in-flight emergency and subsequent "off field" landing in New York City. They knew what they had to do, they knew how to do it, and they did it. Outstanding!
Dave Burkhardt
Sister Bay, WI
CFII - Retired
Airplanes, Instruments & Gliders
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Posted by Leonard, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood, on Jan 21, 2009 at 4:14 pm Before you roll out the red carpet, you better get all the fact from the NTSB.
There are a few questions that need to be answered before Danville has a parade.
Ditching the aircraft in the water may not have been needed if captain Sullenberger was at the controls instead of the co-pilot.
There are a few other issues that need answering. The flock of birds must have been very large to cover the span of both engines.
There is also the issue of the co-pilot simply making a note of the birds dead ahead and not or not knowing how to take evasive action and again why wasn't the captain flying the aircraft. I understand the captain's main duties is to take-off and land the aircraft. If a Captain is teaching a co-pilot to take-off, he/she should have been more focused on the situation.
I agree Captain Sully did a great job in ditching his multi-million dollar aircraft and saving all those lives, but I'm also saying, ditching the aircraft may not have been necessary if Captain Sully was doing the flying.
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Posted by John Baldwin, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Mar 9, 2009 at 8:42 pm Dear Leonard of Alamo,
Sir, by your own words, I can see that you--just like most major newspapers-- have a pathetically naive understanding of things aerodynamic. Since your remarks clearly indicate that you have never once looked at the code of Federal regs governing aviation, let alone very closely at flocks of birds nor the distance between a small Airbus' engines (all of 50 feet) allow me to enlighten you, however briefly:
Captain Sullenberger's co-pilot--what is called a first officer by the FAA, akin to a first mate on a ship--is just as qualified to take-off, land, or ditch as he is. The difference is WHO makes the decison to do so. To imply that the first officer in this case was not the least bit qualified to execute the ditching procedure--let alone somehow less capable--is to demonstrate a level of ignorance one usually associates with those who happen to have significntly more money than intelligence, to say nothing of knocking a pilot you have never met.
Kindly do those of us who happen to be career professionals in aviation an enormous favor: go down to Livermore or up to Concord and spend some of your Alamo money on a flying lesson. During the lesson, demonstrate to your instructor just how Sully or EVEN his first officer should have manuevered to avoid the geese. You might be surprised to lean that even your "lowly" instructor would be insulted by your hallucination on bird avoidance.
Oh, and don't worry about having to squint to see the birds. By the time you notice them,
you'll only be about two seconds from impact.
Your Pal,
John Baldwin,
San Ramon High School grad 1980
First officer Boeing 757 and 767/International flight ops
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Posted by Suzie Forsyth, a resident of another community, on Jul 13, 2009 at 4:09 pm John,
Glad to see that you are still flying.
San Ramon High School Grad 1983
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