Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger Makes Tragic Announcement

Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the celebrated “Hero of the Hudson” who safely landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River and saved all 155 people aboard in 2009, revealed Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease.

“I recently found out I have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. It is early stage,” Sullenberger, 75, said in a statement.

“For now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don’t sleep as well, but I am in the beginning of this long journey,” he added.

Sully said he was diagnosed by Dr. Gil Rabinovici at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center in California. He said he and his family decided to make the diagnosis public in hopes of encouraging others facing the disease to do the same.

“I have spent my life in service, in the US Air Force, as a commercial airline pilot, an accident investigator, as the US Ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization,” Sullenberger said.

“I have advocated for the safety of the traveling public for decades. And of course after the landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, I used the greater voice afforded to me by The Miracle on the Hudson to further aviation safety by speaking out on the many issues facing the industry.”

“I was proud to work with many colleagues, fighting for increased pilot training, more pilot rest, in favor of the two-pilot rule, on increased technology issues, and more.”

Sully said the diagnosis has given him a new mission.

“So this new phase of my life has challenged what it means to be of service. And the answer is to speak up,” he added.

“It is my hope that by sharing this, other families living in the shadows with this disease will feel they too can step forward.”

The veteran pilot said the “Miracle on the Hudson” taught him and his family the importance of hope, adding that while Alzheimer’s may affect his memories, it will not define his future.

“Though it may impact my memory of the past, this diagnosis will not prevent me from looking forward to and appreciating our future,” he said. “I will navigate this chapter with my wonderful family by my side.”

Sully joined US Airways in 1980 and logged more than 20,000 flight hours over his aviation career before becoming an American icon on Jan. 15, 2009.

Shortly after departing New York’s LaGuardia Airport, Flight 1549 struck a flock of Canada geese, knocking out both engines. With no safe runway within reach, Sullenberger guided the Airbus A320 into the icy Hudson River in a remarkable emergency landing.

Every passenger and crew member survived the crash landing and was rescued, cementing Sully’s reputation as one of the nation’s greatest aviation heroes.

Then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg honored Sullenberger with the Key to the City following the rescue. His extraordinary actions were later brought to the big screen in the 2016 film Sully, starring Tom Hanks as the legendary pilot.

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