Chesley Sullenberger Chesley Sullenberger Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III (born 23 January 1951) is a retired American airline captain who, on January 15, 2009, landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan after both engines were disabled by a bird strike; all 155 persons aboard survived. Sullenberger is a speaker on airline safety and has helped develop new protocols for airline safety. He served as the co-chairman, along with First Officer Jeffrey Skiles, of the EAA's Young Eagles youth introduction-to-aviation program from 2009 to 2013. Sullenberger retired from US Airways after 30 years as a commercial pilot on March
US Airways Corporation, said in March that American was open to a merger. A Bloomberg News report dated March 23, 2012, stated that US Airways had been in talks with AMR's creditors about a takeover bid. On December 7, 2012, US Airways announced a merger proposal with American Airlines. The merger required approval from a bankruptcy judge, which was successful. The combined airline would keep the American Airlines name and would be based in American's hometown of Fort Worth. On February 14, 2013, US Airways Group and AMR Corporation announced that the two companies would merge to form the largest airline in