On January 15, 2009, a potential disaster turned into a heroic display of skill and composure when Captain Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III safely landed the plane he was piloting on New York City’s Hudson River after a bird strike caused its engines to fail. David Paterson, governor of New York at the time, dubbed the incident the “miracle on the Hudson.” Sullenberger, a former fighter pilot with decades of flying experience, received a slew of honors for his actions, including an invitation to Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration and resolutions of praise from the U.S. Congress.
About a minute after taking off from New York’s La Guardia Airport on January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 collided with one of the aviation industry’s most threatening foes: a flock of geese. Crippled by the bird strike, both engines lost power and went quiet, forcing Captain Sullenberger to make an emergency landing. When air traffic controllers instructed the seasoned pilot to head for nearby Teterboro Airport, he calmly informed them that he was “unable” to reach a runway. “We’re gonna be in the Hudson,” he said simply, and then told the 150 terrified passengers and five crew members on board to brace for impact.
Ninety seconds later, Sullenberger glided the Airbus 320 over the George Washington Bridge and onto the chilly surface of the Hudson River, where it splashed down midway between Manhattan and New Jersey. As flight attendants ushered passengers into life jackets, through emergency exits and onto the waterlogged wings of the bobbing jet, a flotilla of commuter ferries, sightseeing boats and rescue vessels hastened to the scene. One survivor suffered two broken legs and others were treated for minor injuries or hypothermia, but no fatalities occurred. After walking up and down the aisle twice to ensure a complete evacuation, Sullenberger was the last to leave the sinking plane.
In October 2009, the now-famous pilot, known to his friends as “Sully,” published a book about his childhood, military background and career entitled “Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters.” He retired from US Airways after 30 years in the airline industry on March 3, 2010, and has since devoted his time to consulting, public speaking and advocating for aviation safety.
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“Eleven years ago, I was called to my moment. Now, we are all called to this moment,” he says in the $200,000 ad buy co-sponsored by the anti-Trump Republicans of the Lincoln Project and the VoteVets political-action committee. While he doesn’t mention Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden by name, Sullenberger encourages Americans to cast their votes against Trump.
“We are in control of this nation’s destiny. All we have to do is vote him out.”
— Capt. Chesley Sullenberger
The roughly minute-and-a-half spot features Sullenberger musing on leadership in a crisis. He says that his father’s service as a Naval officer in World War II, as well as Sullenberger’s own experience as an Air Force officer and a fighter pilot before flying as a commercial pilot for more than 30 years, prepared him for his 2009 emergency landing that was called “the Miracle on the Hudson.”
“Leadership is not just about sitting in the pilot’s seat. It’s about knowing what you’re doing, and taking responsibility for it. Being prepared, ready and able to handle anything that might come your way,” says Sullenberger, who has been a Republican for most of his life. But Trump’s leadership over the past four years hasn’t hit the mark as far as Capt. Sully is concerned, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 205,000 Americans and counting.
“It’s in that highest calling of leadership that Donald Trump has failed us so miserably,” says Sullenberger. “Now, it’s up to us to overcome his attacks on our very democracy. Knowing nearly a quarter million Americans won’t have a voice – casualties of his lethal lies and incompetence.”
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/watch-capt-sully-tear-into-trump-vote-him-out-2020-09-29