Chesley Sullenberger was named for the pilot. 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
History of the Hudson River need to make the river safe for drinking and swimming. He braved a combination of rapids, dams, snapping turtles, and pollution in order to complete his journey. The marathon swim was a major part of "Swim for the River", a documentary detailing the history of pollution in the Hudson River and the fight against it. On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency ditching onto the Hudson River beside Manhattan. The flight was a domestic commercial passenger flight with 150 passengers and 5 crew members traveling from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Charlotte Douglas International