'Miracle on Hudson' pilot gains hero status

The pilot who miraculously landed a plane on New York’s Hudson River without any loss of life was today coming to terms with his new-found hero status.

Chesley Sullenberger managed to bring the plane down on the icy waters without the aircraft breaking up, in a manoeuvre that saved the lives of 155 passengers and crew.

His wife Lorrie said today the response to his actions had been “overwhelming” as passengers, aviation experts and public figures including President George Bush heaped praise on the pilot.

Mr Sullenberger himself has yet to make any public comment and is unlikely to do so until the end of an official investigation.

A team of crash experts were today interviewing flight and cabin crew as part of their probe into the incident, which took place at around 8.30pm yesterday Irish time.

They were also looking at how to salvage the plane’s wreckage from the Hudson River, where it has been tethered to a pier since yesterday evening.

Early indications, based on eyewitness accounts, suggest that the plane could have been downed as a result of a bird strike.

Passengers on the US Airways aircraft said the plane got into difficulties shortly after take-off from LaGuardia Airport.

After landing the Airbus A320 plane perfectly on the river, commercial and rescue vessels raced to the scene to take passengers – some of whom were lined up along the wing – to safety.

New York governor David Paterson described the emergency landing and the plane’s successful evacuation as the “miracle on the Hudson”.

As an official transport safety team investigated the crash today, there was worldwide praise for Mr Sullenberger, who aviation experts said had “done everything right”.

Jeff Kolodjay was one of the many passengers who expressed their gratitude.

Mr Kolodjay, from Norwalk, Connecticut, said: “The pilot told us to brace for impact and that pilot did one hell of a job making sure everyone, or the vast majority of people, got off.”

Fellow passenger Brad Wentzell said today: “He is the reason my daughter, my two year old, has a dad and my wife, a husband.”

President Bush today praised the flight crew’s “skill and heroism”.

The Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg said the pilot was “an inspiration to all” and announced that Mr Sullenberger and his crew will be given the key to the city.

He added: “This is a story of heroes – something out of a movie script. But if it was a movie people probably wouldn’t believe it, it is too good to be true.”

Mrs Sullenberger, speaking outside the family home in Danville, California, said: “He is feeling better today. He is a pilot, he is very controlled, he is a professional. We haven’t talked a lot but we are very proud of him.

“My husband has said over the years that it is highly unlikely for any pilot to have an incident in his career let alone something like this.

“I was stunned when he called and said there’s been an incident.”

Asked about Mr Sullenberger’s new found fame, his wife said: “Overwhelming. The girls went to bed last night talking, I could here them saying ’is this weird or what?’.”

Alongside Mr Sullenberger, praise has also been heaped on the emergency services and commercial ferries that helped get people off the plane and out of the water.

Juan Rosario, who captains one of the New York Waterway ferries on the Hudson River, said: “I saw it going down slowly, almost like it was descending nicely. There was a big splash.”

He added: “When I saw it I was in shock. But immediately we just sprang into action.”

Vince Lombardi said commuters and sightseers on his ferry aided in the rescue effort.

He said: “I had 22 passengers already on board and they helped out by throwing them life jackets. We don’t have blankets on board, so we gave them the coats off our backs.”