Chesley Sullenberger - Biography

Last Editor: hoopschick1112				Chesley Sullenberger Biography -   Name : Chesley Sullenberger Birth name : Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III Date of birth : January 23, 1951 Nationality : American Other name : "Sully" Profession : Pilot for US Airways Known for : Captain of US Airways Flight 1549, a flight that successfully ditched into the Hudson River.

Chesley Sullenberger Trivia -

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Chesley Sullenberger Detailed Biography -

Chesley Sullenberger was born on January 23, 1951. He was born to a dentist father and elementary school teacher mother, and has one sister, Mary Wilson. Chesley Sullenberger is an American commercial airline pilot, safety expert and accident investigator from Danville, California, who successfully carried out the emergency water landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River, offshore from Manhattan, New York City on January 15, 2009. He is an international speaker on airline safety and has helped develop new protocols for airline safety. The street on which he grew up in Denison, Texas, was named after his mother's family, the Hannas. Sullenberger was used to build model planes and aircraft carriers during his childhood, and might have become interested in flying after hearing stories about his father's service in the United States Navy. He went to school in Denison, and was consistently in the 99th percentile in every academic category. At the age of 12, his IQ was deemed high enough to join Mensa International. In high school he was the president of the Latin club and an honor student. His high school friends have said that Sullenberger developed a passion for flying from watching jets based out of Perrin Air Force Base. He graduated from Denison High School in 1969[10] near the top of his class of about 350. Sullenberger enrolled at the United States Air Force Academy. He was selected as one of around a dozen other freshmen for a cadet glider program, and by the end of that year, he was an instructor pilot. He graduated with a B.S. from the Academy in 1973, majoring in psychology and basic sciences and receiving a number of academic awards. In his graduation year, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship Award, which is given to the top flier in each graduating class. He also served as a fighter pilot for the United States Air Force. In addition to his bachelor of science degree from the United States Air Force Academy, Sullenberger holds a master's degree in industrial psychology from Purdue University and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Northern Colorado. Sullenberger has been employed by US Airways since 1980. He has more than 40 years of flying experience. He is married to fitness expert Lorrie Sullenberger and they have two daughters, Katie and Kelly. He and his family live in Danville, California. On January 15, 2009, Sullenberger was scheduled to pilot an Airbus 320 from New York's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. After taking off, Sullenberger reported to air traffic control (ATC) that the plane had hit a large flock of geese, disabling both engines. He discussed with ATC the possibilities of either returning to LaGuardia or attempting to land at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. However, he quickly decided neither was feasible, and determined to ditch in the Hudson River. Sullenberger told the passengers to "brace for impact", then successfully piloted the plane to a smooth ditching in the river at about 3:31 P.M. All passengers and crew members survived.