'Miracle pilot' of Hudson River crash speaks up at last

'Miracle pilot' of Hudson River crash speaks up at last
February 05, 2009

AS his Airbus glided towards the icy water, Captain Chesley (Sully) Sullenberger felt 'calm on the outside, turmoil inside'.


THUMBS UP: Captain Chesley Sullenberger was a guest at the NFL Super Bowl football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburg Steelers. PICTURE: AP

These were the words the pilot used to describe his death-defying splash landing in the Hudson River which made him an American hero, reported AP.

Praised for staying cool under pressure, Capt Sullenberger described his 15 Jan river plunge as 'surreal' and revealed he and his wife has shed tears over it.

In his first interview since being credited with saving himself and the 154 passengers and crew, Capt. Sullenberger, 58 - a guest at the Super Bowl festivities in Tampa, Florida on Sunday - described the nerve-rattling wild ride as 'shocking'.

'It was very quiet as we worked, my co-pilot and I. We were a team,' he told ESPN.

'But to have zero thrust coming out of those engines was shocking - the silence.'

Capt Sullenberger's Flight 1549 lost power in both engines after hitting a flock of birds on take-off from LaGuardia Airport.

Rapidly losing altitude and unable to reach an airport, he decided to use the Hudson River as an emergency runway.

Capt. Sullenberger's wife, Lorrie, said they have been flooded with fan mail that they read at night before going to bed.

'It allows both of us to express emotion about it all,' she said.

'We both sit there and cry.'

Source: http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,191812,00.html?