Captain Sully, American Hero
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May 18, 2012, 1:48 pm
Imagine you were on the verge of a complete disaster and you had just over three minutes to come up with a plan to save your life and the lives of 154 other people. In 2009, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger did just that when he successfully ditched a disabled US Airways aircraft in the Hudson River, sparing the lives of everyone on board. He joined the Morning Sports Page Friday to share his story.
On January 15, 2009, Sullenberger was the pilot of an Airbus A 320 that was set to fly from New York's LaGuardia Airport to the Charlotte-Douglas airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shortly after taking off, Flight 1549 struck a large flock of birds, completely disabling both engines.
Sullenberger discussed with air traffic control the possibilities of either returning to LaGuardia airport or attempting to land at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport. But shortly after relaying the conversation to Air Traffic Control, Sullenberger knew that neither of those options were possible with two disabled engines preventing all flight capabilities.
With only 208 seconds to develop and execute a plan that had never been attempted and only been discussed in a theoretical classroom discussion, Sullenberger decided that ditching the aircraft in the Hudson River was the only option for everyone's survival.
Sullenberger walks us in on what went through his mind, what the attitudes of the passengers were like during those unimaginable 208 seconds.
Since that heroic day Sullenberger has become an airline safety speaker, an on air aviation expert for CBS and a bestselling writer. His most recent work, Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders was just released this week.
The book details examples of American heroes like himself who exhibited incredible courage and leadership in times of great disaster.
Take a listen to Sullenberger’s captivating interview as he walks us through that incredible January day and illustrates what makes what makes someone a great leader.
