Denison, Texas in the late 1950s or early 1960s

Denison Days

Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III was born on January 23, 1951 in Denison, Texas, a small town located about 75 miles north of Dallas.  His parents were also born in Denison. So were his grandparents, all four of whom were born in the nineteenth century. Both parents and all four grandparents were college graduates, which was quite uncommon at that time, especially in rural Texas. Chesley's parents owned a farm, but his father was a dentist and his mother was a first grade school teacher. 

Growing up in such a family, the value of education was not lost on young Chesley. In an interview with County Line magazine in 2020, he said: "Education has such great value in many ways. It provides opportunities to live a richer, fuller life."

Chesley attended the Denison public schools and was a very good student, consistently scoring in the 99th percentile in every academic category. His IQ was high enough that he was invited to join Mensa International when he was just eleven years old. In order to receive such an invitation from Mensa, a person has to have an IQ in the top two percent. He was an honor student at Denison High School and when he graduated in 1969 he was near the top of his class of 350 students.

His parents supplied Chesley with a life-long love of reading and a passion for learning. Mediocrity - the attitude that "good enough" was actually good enough - was unacceptable. They had higher expectations for Chesley: "We expect you to do your best, whatever that is," they would tell him. "Don't just get by, but excel." This was a consistent message throughout his childhood.

When he was growing up, Chesley devoured old issues of Life and Look magazines collected by his grandparents during World War II, when his father had been serving in the Navy. He also read his father's old military books that contained stories about men like Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower. One of the things that he learned was that Eisenhower, the commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, had also been born in Denison. And when Chesley was growing up, Eisenhower was the President of the United States - a real hometown hero. 

His reading inspired a deep appreciation of the concept of leadership, of intense preparation, of rising to the occasion, of setting clear objectives, and of meeting a specific challenge. These qualities would serve him well later in life, as we shall see.

Chesley became interested in aviation at a very early age, inspired by the jet fighters that flew over the family farm from nearby Perrin Air Force Base. His younger sister Mary says that he was fascinated by airplanes and flying when he was as young as five years old. He spent many hours building model planes and aircraft carriers and dreaming of the day when he too would be able to soar into that wild blue yonder.

In 1962, at the age of eleven, Chesley flew for the first time. He was just a passenger, flying with his mother on a commercial flight out of Love Field in Dallas. The airport appeared magical to him, filled with people who seemed larger-than-life - well-dressed travelers with important business to attend to, crisply-attired flight attendants, and especially the pilots. When the plane took off, he knew that this was what he wanted to do, that flying would be his mission in life.

At the age of sixteen, Chesley learned to fly, taking lessons in a small single engine plane called the Aeronca Champion 7DC at an airstrip near his home. His instructor was a local crop-duster named L.T. Cook, Jr., who owned the plane and a grass airstrip in the nearby town of Sherman. Cook had been a former instructor with the Civilian Pilot Training Program and War Training Service before and during World War II, so he was well-qualified for the job.

Chesley's first training flight took place on April 3, 1967 and lasted about thirty minutes. "I had the controls in my hands from pretty much the first moment," he says. After sixteen more lessons over the next couple of months, he had recorded seven hours and 25 minutes of flight in his log book. At that point, Cook told him to take off and land the plane three times - all by himself. 

Chesley has never forgotten that first solo flight. "Climbing to 800 feet above the ground, and then circling the field, I felt an exhilarating freedom. I also felt a certain mastery. After listening, watching, asking questions, and studying hard, I had achieved something. Here I was, alone in the air. I can trace my professional experience back to that afternoon. It was a turning point. Mr. Cook had given me confidence. That first solo flight served as confirmation that this would be my livelihood, and my life." By October 1968, he had earned his private pilot certification. 

Shortly after obtaining that certification, Chesley flew his first passenger - his mother. None of his high school friends were particularly interested in aviation, so he had no one his own age to share that with, but he did not seem to care about that. "I was an outlier in that way," he says. "I wasn't one of the cool kids. I was very focused."

For the most part, Chesley kept his attention on academics, but he did participate in some sports. "I was no star by any means, but I was fit." He also loved music, with a passion almost equal to that of flying. Both he and his sister took piano lessons, but he didn't stick with that. He did, however, play flute in the high school band and sang in the church choir. "It was a really enjoyable experience for me," he says, noting that 

traveling with the band allowed him to see other parts of the country. Growing up in a small town in north Texas, that must have been a very broadening experience. 

Chesley graduated from Denison High School with the class of 1969. He was not the valedictorian, but his grades were in the 99th percentile and he did have that Mensa International qualification. He also had his pilot's license, so he was well-set for his next great adventure. At this point, you probably won't be surprised to learn that Sully had been accepted into the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.  

At some point, possibly in high school or perhaps later, Chesley acquired a nickname by which he would be known for the rest of his life. For the remainder of this book we will refer to him by that name - Sully.  

The Air Force 

Sully arrived at the Air Force Academy in June 1969 immediately after graduating from high school. He was selected along with about a dozen other freshmen for a cadet glider program and  by the end of that year was an instructor pilot. At his graduation ceremony in 1973, he received a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He also received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship Award as the top flyer in his class. 

Next, it was off to Purdue University, where Sully earned a Masters Degree in Psychology. Then he was sent to Columbus Air Force Base, where he earned his wings as an Air Force pilot. At Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, he learned to fly the F-4D Phantom II fighter jet.  

As an Air Force pilot, Sully was assigned to a fighter squadron based in the United Kingdom, where he flew the F-4D Phantom II. Following that assignment, he was transferred to Nellis Air Fore Base in Nevada, again flying the F-4D. In time, he became a flight leader and a training officer, attaining the rank of captain. As his career advanced, he had additional experience in the Pacific and in Europe.

Sully served as the Blue Force mission commander in Red Flag Exercises (war games). He also served as a member of an aircraft accident investigation board. Then, in 1980, following a stellar career in the Air Force, Sully decided to leave for greener pastures. 

Sully's Civilian Career

After leaving the Air Force, Sully settled down in Southern California and went to work as a pilot for Pacific Southwest Airlines. In 1988, the company was acquired by US Airways and Sully spent the rest of his civil aviation career with that company. 

Sully married Lorraine "Lorrie" Mary Henry in 1989 and they have two adopted daughters, Kate and Kelly. Lorrie is a bit of a celebrity herself, a fitness trainer who often appears on local television in Southern California and the founder of "Fit and Fabulous ... Outdoors!"

Sully, as you might imagine by now, was no ordinary pilot. He was also an instructor, was involved in a number of aviation accident investigations, served as the air safety chairman of a local chapter of the Air Line Pilot's Association. and has been involved in the issue of airline safety for many years. In 2007, in addition to his piloting duties, he became the founder and CEO of Safety Reliability Methods, Inc. This company provides guidance to the airline industry on matters pertaining to the enhancement of safety, performance, and reliability. He has worked with NASA scientists and has studied the psychology behind keeping an airline crew functioning during a crisis. He was also involved in the investigation of a major accident at Los Angeles International Airport that led to improvements in the evacuation of aircraft in an emergency. Keep all of this in mind as our tale continues, because every bit of it is relevant to what was to come next.   

On the clear but chilly afternoon of January 15, 2009, Sully (57) was assigned as the captain of US Airways flight 1549 with Jeffrey Skiles (49) as his co-pilot. Sully and Skiles had never before flown together, but both were seasoned pilots. Sully had almost 20,000 hours under his belt, including 4,756 on the Airbus A320; Skiles had more than 20,000 hours total, but only 37 on the A320. 

In addition to Sully and Skiles, there were three flight attendants and 150 passengers aboard, a total of 155 souls bound for Charlotte, North Carolina. This would turn out to be the shortest and most harrowing flight that anyone on board would probably ever take. Everything that Sully and Skiles had learned over their many years of flying would be needed to survive what fate was about to throw their way.  

The Miracle on the Hudson

The big Airbus A320 taxied toward runway 04 at New York's LaGuardia International Airport. Captain Sullenberger was in the left seat, the pilot's seat, and First Officer Skiles was in the right seat. The plane was cleared for takeoff at precisely 3:24:56 PM Eastern Standard Time and began rolling down the runway. As you read on, you may notice that US Airways flight 1549 is referred to in the radio conversation as Cactus 1549. Cactus was the call sign for US Airways, since it was based in Arizona. In 2015, US Airways merged with American Airlines.

Cactus 1549 was airborne by 3:26, heading north from LaGuardia and began a climb to 7000 feet. Almost immediately, Sully noticed a flock of Canada geese about to cross their flight path and calmly spoke one word to his co-pilot: "Birds."

At 3:27:11 at an altitude of only 2,818 feet, a bird strike occurred. Sully and Skiles quickly assessed the damage and realized that both engines were out. Their multi-million dollar jet, with 155 souls aboard, had just become a powerless glider. Sully notified LaGuardia of his predicament, speaking matter-of-factly as if were discussing the weather. 

LaGuardia immediately shut down all departures so that Cactus 1549 could return to the airport. Sully was offered several runways but he and Skiles had already determined that they did not have the altitude necessary to make it back to LaGuardia. The next best option was Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, but by the time they were offered a runway there, Sully and Skiles had already determined that they could not get there, either. At that point, Sully told them that he was going to ditch in the Hudson River. 

While all of this was going on, Sully and Skiles were frantically attempting to restart one or both of the engines, but neither one would ignite. Passing over the George Washington bridge, Sully guided the A320 toward a river landing. After losing altitude, radar contact with LaGuardia was lost and another plane reported that he had gone into the Hudson. This terrifying five minute flight was over by 3:31 PM.

Inside the plane, Sully spoke over the intercom what may be the three scariest words in the English language: "Brace for impact." By that time, of course, everyone on board already knew what was about to happen. The flight attendants shouted "Brace! Brace! Heads down!" Then, as the boats in the Hudson scrambled out of her way, the A320 skidded into the river. The force of the impact drove the nose of the aircraft deep into the water, but it quickly bobbed back up to the surface.  

The view seen by Sullenberger and Skiles as they approached the Hudson River

The evacuation began immediately, because Sully knew that the plane would only stay afloat for about thirty minutes at best. Icy cold water rushed into the cabin as soon as the emergency doors were opened. The passengers, wet and freezing in the cold, stood on the wings as boats began to converge around the plane to rescue them. Four Circle Line ferries had the capacity to pick up most of them. As soon as everyone was safely out, Sully went through the plane to make sure that no one had been left behind. Then, just to be absolutely sure, he went through the plane a second time. By 3:55 PM, everyone had been rescued.

78 people received medical treatment for injuries and/or hypothermia, with 24 passengers and two rescuers treated at hospitals. Only two were kept overnight. There were no fatalities. It was quickly dubbed the Miracle on the Hudson.

Cactus 1549 was all alone in the water immediately following the ditching, but dozens of boats swarmed the area within minutes to help rescue the passengers and crew.

The passengers and crew evacuated the plane and stood on the wings or jumped into inflatable rafts awaiting rescue. They didn't have to wait  long. Everyone was eager to help, including the fire department (FDNY) and four Circle Line ferries.

The plane quickly filled with water and sank close to shore. It would later be retrieved by the NTSB and taken away for further study.