Category: In The News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 19, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO – Ambassador Sully Sullenberger, who recently served as the U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization, and is best known for successfully landing his disabled jetliner on the Hudson River with no fatalities in January 2009, has long spoken about the need for quantity and quality when it comes to new pilot training – and how we can and must have both. He released the following statement ahead of today’s House Subcommittee on Aviation hearing:

“Airline industry lobbyists and some in Congress are still trying to cut pilot training in half to cheapen and quicken it. That is a dumb and dangerous idea. With the recent shocking airline near misses and close calls, now is absolutely not the time to cut corners. No one would want their loved ones to board an airliner piloted by a crew not able to handle whatever challenges they will face.”

Ambassador Sullenberger will be listening to today’s hearing – “FAA Reauthorization: Examining Current and Future Challenges Facing the Aerospace Workforce.” He is a speaker, author, safety expert, and an ardent advocate for the safety of everyone who flies. His lifelong preparation and leadership enabled him to safely guide US Airways Flight 1549 to an emergency water landing in New York City’s frigid Hudson River – an inspirational and iconic moment in modern history. During his tenure as Ambassador to ICAO, a United Nations Specialized Agency, he reasserted U.S. leadership there, tackling the aviation crises involving Belarus, Russia, a Middle East airspace dispute and climate change. He has also testified before Congressional committees several times, as recently as 2019.

I spoke with Dr. Robert Wachter of UCSF on his Lemonada Media podcast called “In the Bubble,” about the importance of leadership during a crisis – whether a pandemic or a flight emergency.Listen here: smarturl.it/inthebubble

Podcast link: smarturl.it/inthebubble

On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III saved 155 lives when he successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the cold waters of the Hudson River off midtown Manhattan. The event — called the “Miracle on the Hudson” — solidified his status as an international hero and a master in airline safety and effective leadership.

In his memoir, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, Sullenberger says he realized that his journey to the Hudson River that day didn’t begin at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, but decades before at his childhood Texas home.

“In many ways, all my mentors, heroes, and loved ones — those who taught me and encouraged me and saw the possibilities in me — were with me in the cockpit of Flight 1549. My entire life led me safely to that river,” he says.

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Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger isn’t satisfied that the fixes for Boeing’s 737 MAX proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are enough.

In an exclusive interview, the celebrated pilot said that even if the FAA ungrounds the jet next month as expected, additional modifications are needed as soon as possible to improve the plane’s crew alerting system and add a third check on the jet’s angle of attack data.

“I’m not going to say, ‘We’re done, good enough, move on,’” said Sullenberger.

“People are going to fly on it and I will probably be one of them,” he added. “The updated MAX will probably be as safe as the (previous model) 737 NG when they are done with it. But it’s not as good as it should be.”

After the FAA announced in August the proposed design changes for the MAX’s return to service, there were numerous comments from aviation experts calling for such updates.

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He’s perhaps best known for his heroic display of skill and control when he safely landed a passenger plane on the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009, saving all 155 passengers and crew aboard. A speaker, author and safety advocate, Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger shares a bit of his life and experience with AAA Members.

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What inspired you to become an airline pilot?

I knew I wanted to fly at age 5. My family lived near an Air Force base and I loved seeing the jets fly over our house. I couldn’t wait until I learned to fly at 16. My first flying lesson was a realization of a years-long dream. Freeing myself from the ground, seeing everything on the earth become small and fall away was tantalizing. Feeling the controls in my hand and learning to master the machine was joyous. After earning my private pilot license and commercial pilot license in high school, I became a flight instructor while a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and after graduation, became a U.S.A.F. fighter pilot. After I completed my Air Force service, I became an airline pilot to fly big passenger jets.

What were your first thoughts on that day in 2009 when you realized the flock of geese had disabled both engines?

I knew immediately that this was going to be the biggest challenge of my life, one of the worst days of my life. As is typical in such situations, my first thought was one of disbelief, “This can’t be happening.” But from the very outset, even though we had never specifically envisioned or trained for this situation, I was confident that my crew and I could find a way to solve all the many serious problems we faced until we had either solved them all or solved as many as we could, enough to survive.

What helped me was having paid close attention to precisely managing the total energy, the speed and altitude, of large jets for thousands of hours of flight, and being able to very quickly determine how far we could glide at that low altitude and therefore which options were possible and which were not.

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Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger joins Chuck Rosenberg for a candid discussion on his childhood, his education at the United States Air Force Academy, his passion for flight, and the many challenges facing Americans today.

Listen for free and subscribe here: https://link.chtbl.com/0R2hHEAR