Chesley Sullenberger

Birthday: 23 January 1951, Denison, Texas, USA

Birth Name: Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III

Height: 183 cm

Chesley Sullenberger was born on January 23, 1951 in Denison, Texas, USA as Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III. He is an actor and writer, known for Sully (2016), Face the Nation (1954) and Brace for Impact: The Chesley B. Sullenberger Story (2010). He has been married to Lorrie Sullenberger since June 17, 1989. They have two children.

I would characterize the cockpit as being busy, businesslike, and our cooperation was done largely b...Show more »

I would characterize the cockpit as being busy, businesslike, and our cooperation was done largely by observing the other and not communicating directly because of the extreme time pressure. [First officer] Jeff [Skiles] and I worked together seamlessly and very efficiently, very quickly, without directly verbalizing a lot of issues. We were observing the same things, we had the same perceptions, and it was clear to me that he was hearing what I was saying to Air Traffic Control on the radio. He was observing my actions, and I was observing his, and it was immediately obvious to me that his understanding of the situation was the same as mine, and that he was quickly and efficiently taking the steps to do his part. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

Once we had established our plan, once we knew our only viable option was to land in the river, we k...Show more »

Once we had established our plan, once we knew our only viable option was to land in the river, we knew we could make the landing. But a lot of things yet had to go right. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after Thursday, January 15th, 2009's successful guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson Rriver on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

My view of the world is that people are best served when they find their passion early on, because w...Show more »

My view of the world is that people are best served when they find their passion early on, because we tend to be good at things we're passionate about. I think we also need to find people whom we admire and try to emulate them. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian magazine, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

I can remember at 5 years old knowing that I was going to fly airplanes. And I was just fortunate en...Show more »

I can remember at 5 years old knowing that I was going to fly airplanes. And I was just fortunate enough at every juncture to be able to get to the next goal. I'm not sure what I would have done had I not been able to fly. I never even considered anything else. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian magazine, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

Most of the training that we get is for a situation where you have more time to deal with things. Yo...Show more »

Most of the training that we get is for a situation where you have more time to deal with things. You have time to be more thoughtful, to analyze the situation. Typically what's done these days is for the first officer to be the pilot flying and for the captain to be the pilot monitoring, analyzing and managing the situation. There wasn't time for that. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

Our descent rate was more rapid than usual because we had essentially no thrust. So in order to main...Show more »

Our descent rate was more rapid than usual because we had essentially no thrust. So in order to maintain a safe flying speed, we had to have the nose far enough down that we could hold that speed as we descended. Of course that resulted in a higher-than-normal rate of descent. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways' Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

The way I describe this whole experience - and I haven't had time to reflect on it sufficiently - is...Show more »

The way I describe this whole experience - and I haven't had time to reflect on it sufficiently - is that everything I had done in my career had in some way been a preparation for that moment. There were probably some things that were more important than others or that applied more directly. But I felt like everything I'd done in some way contributed to the outcome - of course, along with [the actions of] my first officer and the flight attendant crew, the cooperative behavior of the passengers during the evacuation, and the prompt and efficient response of the first responders in New York. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading of the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

One of the big differences in flying heavy jets versus flying lighter, smaller aircraft is energy ma...Show more »

One of the big differences in flying heavy jets versus flying lighter, smaller aircraft is energy management - always knowing at any part of the flight what the most desirable flight path is, then trying to attain that in an elegant way with the minimum thrust, so that you never are too high or too low or too fast or too slow. I've always paid attention to that, and I think that more than anything else helped me. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

I knew the altitude and airspeed were relatively low, so our total energy available was not great. I...Show more »

I knew the altitude and airspeed were relatively low, so our total energy available was not great. I also knew we were headed away from LaGuardia, and I knew that to return to LaGuardia I would have to take into account the distance and the altitude necessary to make the turn back. In the case of Teterboro, I knew that was even farther away, even though we were headed in that direction. ... Based on my experience and looking out the window, I could tell by the altitude and the descent rate that neither [airport] was a viable option. I also thought that I could not afford to choose wrongly. I could not afford to attempt to make it to a runway that, in fact, I could not make. Landing short, even by a little bit, can have catastrophic consequences, not only for everybody on the airplane, but for people on the ground. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River, on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

My first flight instructor, L.T. Cook Jr., was a Civilian Pilot Training Program instructor during W...Show more »

My first flight instructor, L.T. Cook Jr., was a Civilian Pilot Training Program instructor during World War II, a real gentleman and a stick-and-rudder man. He was a crop-duster and had his own grass strip in rural Texas. In 1967, I paid $6 an hour for the airplane and gas and $3 an hour for his time. Among the thousands of cards I received [after the ditching], I discovered one from his widow. She wrote, "L.T. wouldn't be surprised, but he certainly would be pleased and proud." [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian magazine, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

[when asked, "When the birds struck, the engines stopped operating, is that correct?"] [deadpan] The...Show more »

[when asked, "When the birds struck, the engines stopped operating, is that correct?"] [deadpan] They certainly were not capable of producing usable thrust. [interviewed in Air & Space Smithsonian magazine, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

[asked whether it was standard procedure for the captain to go back through the cabin after an emerg...Show more »

[asked whether it was standard procedure for the captain to go back through the cabin after an emergency] I felt that as more of a personal responsibility than a procedural responsibility - which it may be. But I had the time, the aircraft was stable, and I was not concerned that it would suddenly sink. And so I could leave absolutely no possibility of anyone being left behind. I made a thorough search, calling out, "Is anyone there?" to make sure the evacuation was complete, and it was. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

[when asked, "Did the airplane have a ditch button?"] Yes, it's called a ditching push button. And t...Show more »

[when asked, "Did the airplane have a ditch button?"] Yes, it's called a ditching push button. And there was not time. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian magazine, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

[when asked about how the flight attendants helped, after he announced "Brace for impact"] I felt th...Show more »

[when asked about how the flight attendants helped, after he announced "Brace for impact"] I felt they were assisting me in that moment. Even though we were intensely focused and very busy, I remember thinking that as soon as I made the public address announcement in the cabin, within a second or two, I heard, even through the hardened cockpit door, the flight attendants in unison shouting their commands. "Heads down. Stay down." And it was comforting to me to know that they were on the same page, that we were all acting in concert. It made me feel that my hope and my confidence in completing this plan was reasonable and that they knew what needed to be done and were doing their part. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «

I felt it was like the best of both worlds. I could use my experience, I could look out the window a...Show more »

I felt it was like the best of both worlds. I could use my experience, I could look out the window and make a decision about where we were going to go, while he [the first officer] was continuing his effort to restart the engines and hoping that we wouldn't have to land some place other than a runway. He was valiantly trying until the last moment to get the engines started again. [interview in Air & Space Smithsonian, on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. Interview was 34 days after successfully guiding and leading the falling US Airways' Flight 1549 into the Hudson River on Thursday, January 15th, 2009] Show less «