http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/15/MNFJ15BHFU.DTL
Bay Area pilot hailed in New York City crash
Matthew B. Stannard,Kevin Fagan, Chronicle Staff Writers
Thursday, January 15, 2009
(01-15) 20:26 PST Danville -- A Danville pilot was catapulted to fame Thursday after saving 150 passengers on a US Airways A320, easing the crippled plane down in the frigid Hudson River when its engines failed moments after takeoff, then helping frightened passengers to safety and checking the cabin - twice - before leaving the sinking plane himself.
Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, 57, was hailed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, by New York Gov. David Paterson, by his passengers and by masses of New Yorkers as news spread of his lifesaving landing. The plane blew both engines after hitting a flock of birds shortly after its 3:26 p.m. takeoff from LaGuardia Airport.
"The captain said, 'Brace for impact because we're going down,' " passenger Jeff Kolodjay told the Associated Press.
Passengers put their heads in their laps and started praying, Kolodjay said.
Sullenberger contacted the tower and reported a "double bird strike" and said he needed to return to LaGuardia, said Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. He said the controller told the pilot to divert to an airport in nearby Teterboro, N.J.
It was not clear why Sullenberger did not land at Teterboro. Church said there was no mayday call from the plane's transponder. The plane hit the water hard - another passenger told the AP it was similar to the feeling of a low-velocity rear-end car accident, hurling passengers into the seats in front of them.
"It was intense. It was intense. You've got to give it to the pilot," Kolodjay said. "He made a hell of a landing."
The plane landed in the 35 degree waters of the Hudson off Manhattan's 48th street with a massive splash. Witnesses on the shore watched in shock as passengers scrambled out, fast but orderly, and the plane began slowly sinking. Passengers waded out onto the wings as waves licked the plane's windows.
One commuter ferry, the Thomas Jefferson of the company NY Waterway, arrived within minutes of the crash. Ferry passengers seized life vests and lines of rope and tossed them to plane passengers struggling in the freezing water as the plane drifted slowly south.
Soon an armada of police boats, fireboats, tugboats and Coast Guard craft converged on the aircraft, and over the next hour, all the passengers, including at least one baby, and both pilots and all three flight attendants were transferred to the rescue boats.
When his passengers and flight crew were out, Sullenberger walked up and down the aisle twice to make sure the plane was empty, officials said.
"We've had a miracle on 34th Street," Paterson said at a late-afternoon news conference in Manhattan. "I believe now we've had a miracle on the Hudson."
If a Hollywood producer called central casting in search of an actor to play a pilot in a disaster movie, he would probably wind up with somebody who looked a lot like "Sully" Sullenberger: the silver hair of experience, the trimmed mustache of precision and the kind of twinkly, fatherly eyes that lend confidence when accompanying a friendly "Welcome aboard."
Sullenberger has decades of experience not only flying planes - first F-4's for the US Air Force and since 1980 all kinds of aircraft for US Airways - but of studying and teaching how to fly them more safely. His resume shows experience flying everything from a glider to a jumbo jet; his consulting company is named a series of reassuring words: Safety Reliability Methods.
"I've heard Sully say to people that 'it's rare for an airline pilot to have an incident in their career,' " his wife, Lorraine, told CNN shortly after the crash.
"When he called me he said 'there's been an accident," she said. "At first I thought it was something minor, but then he told me the circumstances, and my body started shaking, and I rushed to get our daughters out of school."
About two years ago, thinking about his long-term career, Sullenberger tracked down Karlene Roberts, director of the Collaborative for Catastrophic Risk Management at UC Berkeley. The outgoing pilot quickly became a visiting scholar at the center, discussing risk and safety across all kinds of industries.
Sullenberger's scholarship ran deep, Roberts said - he has a bachelor's degree in psychology and master's degrees in industrial psychology and public administration, according to his resume - and it was that background, plus the safety standards of modern American aviation, that helped him weather the crisis, she said.
"He's a very outgoing guy and a strong individual. I can see him doing this, I can see him taking the steps he did," she said. "He was calm and he was businesslike. That seems to be consistent with what I know."
At the Sullenberger family's spacious two-story, tile-roofed house on Greenridge Place, the lights were dark Thursday evening as the family avoided media. At 6:30 p.m., a car rolled up with friends and one of Sullenberger's two daughters bearing several bags of In N Out burgers.
Family friend Jim Walberg told reporters the family was "Shocked. They're working out details of when he'll come home, and don't want to talk to the press tonight."
He smiled, and added: "We're just very proud of him."
Next door, family friend Jake Brown, who arrived home in his Red Corvette, said with a big grin that he was not surprised his friend was an apparent hero.
"That sounds like Sully to me," he said, shaking his head admiringly. "With his military experience and love of flying, it's what I would expect."
Brown also said his wife talked to Sullenberger's wife early in the evening and "she was pretty traumatized - but actually I guess you'd say relieved. She was crying a little bit and probably a little stunned at the news."
The Sullenbergers' neighborhood is typical Danville, an upscale spread of beige custom homes with vague Spanish architecture themes. The quiet wide streets were empty Thursday evening of people or much traffic. Neighbors know Sullenberger as a devoted family man, with a wife who is a fitness trainer and a daughter who is a cheerleader in the nearby middle school.
The family participates in charity walks and raises guide dogs for the blind, neighbors said, and can be found at the annual Easter egg hunt and friendly neighborhood parties throughout the year.
Reporters have been trolling the neighborhood and neighbor's phones have been ringing off the hook since news spread of the near-disaster. Online, Sullenberger's fame spread rapidly. A Facebook site for his fans was created within hours.
"You are a true American hero. Your selfless acts saved the lives of all of your passengers," A woman who said she was from Pennsylvania wrote. "I am not a fan of flying on planes but if I had to I wouldn't second guess my choice of flying if you were the pilot. God bless you!"
Asked if he would treat his friend any differently when he showed up, Brown chuckled and said, "No. But seriously, Sully is a very easy going calm, kind of guy. I don't think this will change him at all."
A few doors down from Sullenberger's house, Brandon Bissada and his family said Sullenberger was "one of the nicest guys on the street."
"He's like a real friendly person, gets along with everyone," said Bissada, 13. "If he's walking down to the pool, he stops and says 'hi'."
Bissada said Sullenberger's family often strolls down the street with their Golden Retriever dog. "I knew Mr. Sullenberger was a pilot but never knew he was a hero. Wow. Right here on our street."
