Chelsey B. Sullenberger

Everybody has a different definition of a “Hero”. A hero could be someone that went above and beyond to save a life. Maybe a hero is just someone that made you laugh when you were sad. To me there are many different kinds of heroes. A person who inspires me saved many lives by just thinking fast. His name is Chesley B. Sullenberger. He is a U.S. Airways pilot that landed a crashing plane into the Hudson River. I feel that Chesley has many heroic traits. He was brave, a life saver, and humble. All of those traits together are what make Chesley a true hero to me, and hopefully, after you read this he will inspire you too.

To begin with, Chesley’s bravery is what saved many lives one day. He was flying a plane out of New York. Then, just a few minutes after takeoff, a flock of geese flew into the engine. Many pilots might have gotten scared and not know what to do, but not Chesley. He knew he had to think fast, and that’s exactly what he did. He thought of all the options that he had. He could try going back to the airport, but then he might miss and kill people on the ground, and so he decided to land in the Hudson River. With Chesley’s skill, everyone survived. The bravest thing he did that day was stay calm. Instead of getting all worked up and crashing the plane into the ground, Chesley thought about his passengers and knew he needed to get them to the ground safely. Then, once the plane was in the Hudson River, slowly sinking to a dark, icy bottom, Chelsey didn’t get out of the plane. He walked the aisles two times just to make sure all his passengers made it out safely. The ferry boats soon came and rescued all the passengers.

Chelsey (google)

Chesley was obviously a lifesaver that day. If he wasn’t the pilot of that plane there might have been 150 lives lost. There were some injuries, but it could have been much worst. Those passengers were lucky to have a pilot like Chelsey.

What helped Chelsey be a lifesaver that day was all his experience and passion he had in being a pilot. Let me give you some facts about Chesley. Following a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot and trainer, he has been a U.S. Airways pilot since 1980. That’s 29 years of working for U. S. Airways! By now he was very familiar with flying passengers around. He has gone to college for flying and has gotten a bachelor degree in it. And of course the passengers on his plane thought of him as a hero. Here are some of the things they said. “I just can’t believe how well he did. We are all alive because of him.” A neighbor said “If anyone could do it, it would be him.” That shows how important his fast actions were to everyone.

As a result of Chelsey’s fast thinking, everyone is safe and happy now. That caused Chelsey to get a lot of attention. But he didn’t let it get to his head. He acted very humble. When he was getting praise from the media and being thanked for all he did his reply was “I was just doing my job.” Some pilots would be arrogant about their achievements, but it’s no big deal to Chelsey.

Perhaps those are the greatest reasons I chose Chelsey B Sullenberger as my Hero. It was like a natural reflex to save others. The brave deed he did made him stand out from everyone else. His lifesaving values saved not just one, but 150 lives! His humbleness shows that he did what he did not for the attention, but because he had to. I hope after reading this Chelsey isn’t only my hero, but yours too.