Chesley Sullenberger

"Every day we wake up, we have an opportunity to do some good, but there's so much bad that you have to navigate to get to the good." (Sullenberger). Many would think a hero is most often defined in the time with no adversity at hand. Most often though this is not the case. Chesley Sullenberger was heroic at a time of affliction when others would be ill guided to be capable of traveling out of such murky waters. Sullenberger, born January 23, 1951, in Denison, TX; son of a dentist and an elementary school teacher. Wanting to be a pilot from the young age of five, he continued on with this admiration to be a pilot and earned his pilot license at the young age of 14.  Sullenberger, a strong student graduated at the top of his high school class from Denison High in 1969. After graduating high school, he went on to the Air Force academy in 1973 and continued on with military involvement while serving in the Air Force for 7 years. Chesley ended up earning the prestigious rank of captain over time he then finally retired from the military. Then In 1980, he was hired by a commercial airline company, Pacific Southwest which would later be purchased by US Airways. This Job would soon turn Sully from a regular accomplished man to a true hero we know him today as. Sullenberger is a hero because of his courage, dedication and inspiring qualities.

Sullenberger was courageous at a time when not much good was visible this though is why he is recognized today as a hero. On January 15, 2009, after taking off from Laguardia Airport in New York. Flight 1549 turned from a routine flight to a heroic mission. Sully, 2 minutes into flight, realized that the plane had been struck in both engines by a flock of geese.   With no power left captain Chesley Sullenberger had to use his years of skills and training to save the 155 lives on board. "The river is busy in that area, and it was certainly risky, but it was his best chance to save lives. Warning the passengers and crew to brace for impact, Sullenberger and Skiles brought the jet safely over the massive George Washington Bridge and down to a gliding stop on the surface of the Hudson. Within minutes, boats were on the scene to rescue the passengers and crew. Sullenberger made sure everyone was safely evacuated before he left the craft himself. His cool thinking and the successful execution of his landing made him a national hero." (Gale). When Sullenberger made this decision to land the plane in the Hudson without a thought in  his mind other than saving everyone's live on board.  This made him the hero he is today. This courageous drive to make a split second decision to land a thrust less airliner in the Hudson river lined with tall skyscrapers, was an enduring thought that only Sullenberger would have. This courage though wasn't founded upon nothing he also fought for our country. "Upon graduation from the Academy, Sullenberger served as a fighter pilot for the United States Air Force from 1975 to 1980. He advanced to become a flight leader and a training officer, attaining the rank of captain. During his active duty, he was stationed in North America and Europe. After serving in the Air Force, Sullenberger became an airline pilot...." ("About." Sully.) Even before this miracle on the Hudson  he was a selfless hero who fought in the front lines, with courage and thinking once again not only of himself but other people. Chesley Sullenberger wasn't purposely in these situations to be called a hero, he did it because he cares about the safety of others.

Dedication was another trait that Chesley Sullenberger held close to him through out his career in aviation. With the dedication he had toward his job it fueled his heroic actions before, and so on after crisis impacted his life. "Prior to gaining worldwide attention, Sullenberger was an active and ardent safety advocate throughout his four-decade-long career. He was selected to perform accident investigation duties for the United States Air Force and served as an Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) representative during a National Transportation Safety Board investigation. Additionally, Sullenberger served as a Local Air Safety Chairman for ALPA, and was a member of one of their national technical committees, where he contributed to the creation of a Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular. He was also instrumental in developing and implementing the Crew Resource Management course used by US Airways, and he has taught the course to hundreds of other airline crew members."( "About." Sully). Sully's dedication to safety even before his worldwide recognition. Therefore verifies he cared about people's safety even before crashing in the Hudson. Which shows true dedication to his job because he didn't have any true motivation, he did it because he cares about the safety of others and we also saw this truly shown when he crashed into the Hudson. "Sullenberger then boarded the emergency life rafts, along with passengers and crew. He insisted on being the last person aboard the lifeboats, just as he had been the last person to evacuate the plane. It was several hours before Sullenberger heard the news he had been waiting for--that every passenger and crew member had survived the accident." (Chesley Sullenberger). Making sure everyone was safe was obviously his first priority. This probably though  because of his prior dedication to safety.  "attaining the rank of captain and performing extra duties such as serving on the aircraft accident investigation board."(Contemporary Authors Online). Most would have stopped after earning the prestigious rank of captain, Chesley did not though. He still was dedicated to his job and even more than just his job also the well being of others.

Like many heroes, Chesley Sullenberger was an inspiration and still is today. Sullenberger involvement in safety advocate programs and his own drive toward safety made an influence on the safety we have today around the world. " These programs and endeavors are ideally suited to put Sullenberger's expertise in safety and knowledge of high performance systems improvement, to work saving lives, saving money and bringing value to communities."( Sully Sullenberger). Sullenberger's skill and expertise in the field of aviation is inspiring to me. What really sets him apart though is the way that he applies his knowledge to help others, a quality that further classifies Sullenberger as a hero and especially an inspiration to me. Over all though, "Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger smoothly crash-landed a US Airways Airbus in New York's Hudson River in January 2009, after the plane's engines had been disabled by a flock of birds. Safely landing the plane under extreme conditions, Sullenberger saved 155 lives, including his own. A pilot with over forty years of flying experience, he became an instant national hero, receiving congratulations from President George W. Bush, as well as from New York Governor David Paterson and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg."( Chesley Sullenberger). With his heroic actions and amount of time spent in his job he inspires many to be a pilot. He especially inspires me though, because of his skills and expertise he put toward his job and how he executed such a monumental life saving action in such an acute condition.

"We all have heard about ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary situations. They act courageously or responsibly, and their efforts are described as if they opted to act that way on the spur of the moment... I believe many people in those situations actually have made decisions years before." (Sullenberger). Chesley Sullenberger was an inspiring hero who was courageous at the time of misfortune and dedicated to his job. Sullenberger most heavily believed though that ordinary people can move through rough waters and do something extraordinary. In the world we live in today people think that they can't do something to help the world if they aren't a publicized hero. Chesley Sullenberger though is a great example that an ordinary man can do something extraordinary.