“He was the last one up the aisle and he made sure that there was nobody behind him.”
The pilot who guided a crippled US Airways jetliner safely into the Hudson River— saving all 155 people aboard — became an instant hero Thursday, withaccolades from the mayor and governor and a fan club online.
The pilot of Flight 1549 was ChesleyB. “Sully” Sullenberger III, 57, of Danville, Calif., an officialfamiliar with the accident told The Associated Press. Sullenberger is aformer fighter pilot who runs a safety consulting firm in addition to flying commercial aircraft.
Sullenberger, who has flown for US Airways since 1980, flew F-4 fighter jetswith the Air Force in the 1970s. He then served on a board thatinvestigated aircraft accidents and participated later in several National Transportation Safety Board investigations.
Sullenberger had been studying the psychology of keeping airlinecrews functioning even in the face of crisis, said Robert Bea, a civilengineer who co-founded UC Berkeley’s Center for Catastrophic Risk Management.
Bea said he could think of few pilots as well-situated to bring the plane down safely than Sullenberger.
“Whena plane is getting ready to crash with a lot of people who trust you,it is a test.. Sulley proved the end of the road for that test. He hadstudied it, he had rehearsed it, he had taken it to his heart.”