Why Is Chesley Sullenberger Important

Kyle Konkol
Ms. Gallagher
Language Arts p.8
5 December 2014

Chesley Sullenberger

“I think it's become an economic necessity for people to be able to learn and grow throughout their lives, because most people can't get through their entire career with one skill set. We have to keep reinventing ourselves” (Brainyquote). Chesley Sullenberger is praised in society today for his outstanding braveness and ability to conform under mass amounts of stress. As a Pilot, Sullenberger knew the danger of the air and the importance of the lives around him. Even when Sullenberger was a child, his mother would constantly brand love and affection into his heart due to her experience as a caring first grade teacher. Sullenbergers mother taught him that all
life is sacred which he stated was on his mind when he was piloting flight 1549. Chesley Sullenberger's years of pursuing airline safety instruction paid off and he saved more than 100 precious lives from being ended in less than a second. Sullenberger went on to be the founder and chief executive officer of Safety Reliability Methods, Inc., a company dedicated to management, safety, performance, and reliability consulting. Adding to this, Sullenberger gave dozens of touching speeches and worked as a CBS News aviation and safety expert. A hero is someone, or something, that uses prior experiences to change the world for the better. Chesley Sullenberger easily can be classified as a hero because he stayed calm and took in past knowledge to nobly save the day when all eyes were looking to him for help. As a kid Chesley Sullenberger was intrigued with the skies and being an air pilot. With all of his motivation, he grew up to be an amazing airplane pilot. ’’Born and raised in Denison, Texas, Sullenberger pursued his childhood love of aviation at the United States Air Force Academy’’ (Biography). He stated that he loved the school because he made many bonds with the instructors. After graduating, he went on to gain a masters degree from Purdue University. Later on during his young life he went to serve in the air force and became a fighter pilot from 1975 to 1980. He was stationed in North America and Europe and eventually achieved the title of “captain” Sullenberger. Overall, Sullenberger's advanced knowledge of flight and aircrafts at a young age lead him to be a world wide hero in his later years. Sullenberger spent much of his time pursuing airline safety in order to protect himself and the precious lives around him.
He was devoted to safety and knew it was the most important aspect about flying. Approximately 30,000 commercial airline flights take off and land successfully each and every day in the United States without incident. It just happened to be that Chesley Sullenberger was piloting the plane that would not land safely as planned. Statistically speaking, For every million flights, only 2.4 do not meet their end destination. It just so happened that sullenberger was the pilot of the unlucky .0000024% of flights that would not meet their end destinations. However, since Sullenberger was an active ardent safety advocate throughout his career, he was able to think under pressure and perform on the day of “The Miracle On the Hudson”. In addition, Sullenberger was a Local Air Safety Chairman, and taught an airline safety class to great amounts of airline crewmembers. Sullenberger believes that it is the passengers who teach him more and more about airline safety. In his book that he wrote about his hero moment he stated, “My message going forward is that I want to remind everyone in the aviation industry - especially those who manage aviation companies and those who regulate aviation - that we owe it to our passengers to keep learning how to do it better” (Sullenberger 31). Sullenberger would constantly interact with the passengers while educating himself more
in the aviation business. In conclusion, Sullenberger is an amazing pilot and should be recognized in an aviation safety sense. Chesley Sullenberger worked hard to become a great well known pilot and an inspiration to many people today.
Sullenberger became a hero on January 15, 2009 when he and his crew safely and miraculously guided US Airways Flight 1549 to an emergency water landing in New York City’s very own, Hudson River. When the plane he was piloting impacted a large flock of Canada geese during liftoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport. The engines failed, and within 10 seconds neither of them were providing any thrust and could not sustain the weight of the plane. He announced over the intercom, "Brace for impact," and as best as humanly possible, took the plane to the water's surface. The maneuver was a success, and all 155 people aboard flight 1549 survived. The crew evacuated the passengers; Captain Sullenberger gracefully, and nobly, left the plane last. To this day, the incident was given the title of, “Miracle On the Hudson” and Chesley Sullenberger is widely know as a courageous and an amazing
inspiration. Kids and adults all over the world look up to Chesley Sullenberger, and for a good reason too. He saved 155 people from death and yet he is still always humble. Charity organizations and other funds have revolved around Sullenberger for his hero act. However, not only is he a hero, he is also a believer. He believes that there could be a day when no plane crashes ever occur. To this day Sullenberger explores aviation safety and he states that he will never forget flight 1549 on January 15, 2009. Great people of our country and the world solute Sullenberger and all the crewmembers of the extraordinary flight. Without a doubt, society will remember “The Miracle On the Hudson” for eternity and it will eventually be in the history books.