Capt. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger reflects on 15 years since ‘Miracle on the Hudson’
Monday marks 15 years since Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed a plane on the Hudson River in New York and saved the more than 150 people who were on board.
He joined MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle on The 11th Hour Saturday to reflect on the “Miracle on the Hudson” and his life since he became known for his heroic act.
“It really took everyone involved. My crew, the passengers themselves, to rescuers, the first responders, all of it, responders from New York and New Jersey, it took so much cooperation,” Sullenberger said. “Everyone involved had to rise to the occasion and understand how serious this was and what they had to do and make it their mission to make sure that every life was saved.”
The pilot said his life changed instantly that day in 2009, when his plane struck a flock of birds shortly after taking off from LaGuardia International Airport in Queens and lost power to the engines.
He decided to land the plane in the shallow area of the Hudson River near Midtown Manhattan. Boats rescued all passengers who stood on the plane’s wings, and only a few people sustained injuries, he recalled.
The National Transportation Safety Board called it the most successful emergency water landing in history.
Sullenberger, now retired, said he recently met with his former passengers and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles at a panel that was “very rewarding.”
“It was also wonderful to fill in the gaps in what I witnessed personally," the former pilot said. "By hearing each of their stories and of course, as you can imagine, depending upon where they were sitting in the airplane, they had different experiences."
“And so it was really fascinating to hear what they thought, what they felt, what they did, what they saw and how they reacted to the flight attendants’ orders," he added.
Sullenberger also recently met with the first responders who helped to rescue the pilots and passengers for a reunion, since he hadn't seen them since the incident.
Skiles said it was his first trip outside of training and he had just qualified to be a co-pilot on the Airbus 320 the Friday before.
He is now a Captain and still a pilot to this day, CBS News reported.