Tags : capt. sullenberger, heroes, reunions, us airways flight 1549
“Miracle On The Hudson” Resumes Flying; Reunites With Co-Pilot
Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger returns to the air on Thursday for the first time since he was hailed a hero for deftly piloting a U.S. Airways plane that crash-landed on the Hudson River early this year without any casualties.
Sullenberger makes his first flight since the “Miracle on the Hudson” to mark his new role as an active management pilot for U.S. Airways, the nation’s fifth largest airline. He flies from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Charlotte, North Carolina together with his original co-pilot, First Officer Jeff Skiles.
“I have missed working with my colleagues at U.S. Airways and I am eager to get back in the cockpit with my fellow pilots in the months ahead,” Sullenberger, who flew F-4 Phantoms in the Air Force before becoming a commercial pilot, said in a statement. “In my new role, I will continue to be the same kind of advocate for aviation safety that I have been for several decades.’”
Sullenberger on Jan. 15 had been forced to land a U.S. Airways plane on the Hudson River after reporting a bird strike to a New York Tracon air traffic controller less than two minutes after take-off. All 155 passengers of Flight 1549, which took off from LaGuardia Airport, survived and Sullenberger along with other crew members including Skiles were hailed as heroes.
Congress in February held hearings on the crash, which brought attention to bird strikes. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in April dropped a proposal to keep information about bird strikes confidential.
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