If he had not changed his military career for a civilian one. If US Airways had not scheduled flight 1549 that day and especially if a flock of Canadian geese had not crossed and collided with his Airbus during takeoff from New York-LaGuardia, Chesley Sullenberger would be an aviator today, at 72 years old. retired and practically anonymous. However, his life changed shortly after three in the afternoon on a day like today, exactly 15 years ago. At that moment he landed his A320 in the Hudson River, saving the lives of all the plane’s occupants. That January 15, 2009, this discreet Texan became, despite himself, a hero who brought shine to his profession: commercial pilot.
When Captain Chelsey ‘Sulley’ Sullenberger and his first officer Jeff Skiles were preparing flight 1549 between the always congested LaGuardia airport in New York and Charlotte, a few months earlier George W. Bush had signed an executive order allowing commercial pilots over 60 years old could extend their active life until they were 65. Sulley turned 58 a week later, so he was approaching the doors of retirement. So, thanks to the new rule, he could fly for a while longer as commander of the Airbus 320 family. Those A319, A320 and A321 had become the backbone of his company, US Airways, for which he had signed in the early 1980s.
The flight between LaGuardia and Douglas airports (names that recall former mayors of New York and Charlotte respectively) was supposed to be another hop without much history of about 90 minutes. There were 150 passengers and five crew members on board: two pilots and three flight attendants.
The A320, with almost 10 years of service and registration N106US, took off at 3:24 p.m. on runway 04. Just three minutes later, in mid-climb, the captain notified LaGuardia controllers that the plane had lost power in its planes. two engines. Something exceptional, although like any eventuality, the possibility was contemplated in the plane’s quick reference manual, which the first officer immediately consulted, while Sullenberger handled communications and made quick decisions.
Doing a quick calculation, the captain found it impossible to return to the departure airport and also had to give up going to an alternative: Teterboro, in New Jersey, where almost all private planes bound for New York land. They wouldn’t get there either. Without the thrust of the engines they would fall before reaching the runway. The pilots concluded that the loss of power was due to their plane colliding with a flock of geese. Some had hit the fuselage and others had hit the two CFM56 engines, rendering them useless.
At 3:29 p.m. on January 15, 2009, knowing that his plane could not reach any nearby airport, Sully Sullenberger made a decision that changed his life: he ditched the Airbus in the Hudson, the river that separates the states of New York and New Jersey. He announced it over the radio to LaGuardia controllers and with the same microphone transmitted a clear message to his crew and passengers: “prepare for impact.”
At 3:30 p.m., just six minutes after taking off the wheels from runway 04, the plane landed in the river, near the Weehawken ferry terminal in New Jersey, which on the opposite bank of the river is equivalent to 54th and 55th streets in Manhattan. As soon as it stopped, the three flight attendants began the evacuation. The front doors with their inflatable ramps and the windows on the wings were the escape route for the travelers, who remained on these surfaces waiting for help.
Eternal support did not take long to arrive, as the proximity of the ferry terminal meant that the first boat arrived just three minutes after impact with the water. He was in charge of rescuing the first passengers from the inflatable rafts. The NY Waterway Company immediately sent five more boats, which arrived almost at the same time as the first fire and coast guard boats. The captains of these ferries saw how Captain Sullenberger was the last to leave the plane. The official investigation relates how many travelers left the A320 outside without a life jacket. It was the two pilots and one of the flight attendants who recovered several life preservers under the seats in the first rows to distribute them.
The 155 occupants of US Airways 1549 saved their lives due to the decision of the captain, who that same afternoon received a call from President Bush to thank him for his good work. The days after the landing, the results of which were immediately dubbed “the miracle of the Hudson”, were very intense. If on Thursday the 15th, Sully had saved the lives of his crew and passengers, on Tuesday the 20th the captain and his crew flew to Washington invited by Barack Obama as guests of his inauguration at the Capitol.
The swearing-in of the 44th president of the United States was the largest event held in the history of the country’s capital and that day the entire crew of flight 1549 was a guest of honor at that event that began the Obama era: eight Democratic years between two Republican presidents.
Involuntarily, after that day, the discreet and shy Sullenberger became a national hero and dozens of institutions wanted to honor and honor him in the most diverse events: from the Senate to police associations. He was paid tribute by the New York City Hall and was even invited during the previews of football games and kickoffs of important baseball games. One of the most unique tributes to him was from the seaplane pilots’ association: he was named a life member despite never having flown amphibious aircraft. Quite a nod to who he successfully took in the waters of the Hudson.
Sullenberger experienced intensely all those tributes and a public exhibition that was unthinkable a few days ago for a commercial pilot. It is known that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder for some time, as did some of the plane’s occupants and the controller who was in contact with the pilots during those long minutes of flight that ended well.
Sully became a symbol of a job well done and dignified the work of aviators, although he did not allow himself to be dazzled by that popularity: in parliament he harshly criticized the cancellation of the pension plans of most airlines for their employees. , the decreases or freezes in salaries and the tendency of some companies to hire pilots with very tight experiences in order to pay low salaries, reminding congressmen and the sector that experience is something non-negotiable in terms of air safety.
Once the Hudson hangover was over, the investigation into the accident was very exhaustive and the National Transportation Safety Board ended up agreeing. Sullenberger was not as supported as expected by other colleagues and airline managers during the investigation process that ended up summarized in a 196-page official report.
Six years after the accident, Clint Eastwood wanted to bring the story to film. Based on the aviator’s memoirs, he asked Todd Komarnicki to prepare a script for the big screen, where actors Tom Hanks and Aaron Eckhart would play the two pilots of the 1549. The film, in which Sully himself was an advisor of the contents, was faithful to everything that happened, although according to the aviator himself and according to a spokesperson for the National Security Board, the narrative about the investigation seemed excessively inquisitive compared to those processes in reality. In the end, the film, released in 2016, generated income of 220 million euros, well above its cost of 54 million.
In real life, the aviator finally retired at age 60 and to this day continues to travel to a number of countries to give conferences and talks, focusing on the importance of air transportation, systems improvement, leadership and culture. . He has also specialized in lecturing at international forums on risk and crisis management.
After today’s accident 15 years ago, the Airbus A320 involved in the crash was towed to southern Manhattan and two days later it was transferred to New Jersey for investigation. Its operator, US Airways, continued flying as an independent company until 2015, when it merged with American Airlines and integrated its nearly 350 aircraft into its fleet, making American the largest company in the world.
The US Airways brand disappeared from the skies, although its colors are still painted on the Airbus piloted by Sullenberger and Skiles, which is currently displayed at the aviation museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. The facility opened in 1992 as the Carolinas Aviation Museum, although in 2018 it was renamed the Sullenberger Aviation Museum, with several documentary collections, memorabilia and materials from several defunct airlines, around fifty real aircraft, both civil and military, and the one that is considered the jewel of the collection: the Airbus A320 of the so-called “Hudson miracle”.