Chesley Sullenberger
Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger, III (born January 23, 1951) is a retired airline captain, aviation safety expert and accident investigator, best-selling author, speaker and consultant. He was hailed as a national hero in the United States when he successfully executed an emergency water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan, New York City, after the aircraft was disabled by striking a flock of Canada geese during its initial climb out of LaGuardia Airport on January 15, 2009. All of the 155 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft survived. Sullenberger is an international speaker on airline safety and has helped develop new protocols for airline safety. He served as the co-chairman of the EAA's Young Eagles youth introduction-to-aviation program from 2009 to 2013. He retired from US Airways after 30 years as a commercial pilot on March 3, 2010. In May of the following year, Sullenberger was hired by CBS News as a News Aviation and Safety Expert. He is the author of the New York Times best-seller Highest Duty, a memoir of his life and of the events surrounding Flight 1549, published in 2009 by HarperCollins. His second book, Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders, was published in May 2012. He was ranked second in Time ' s "Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009".