US Airways flight 1549 lost both its engine 3 minutes after taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport. Since the plane generate power from its engines, the plane lost all its power but still the pilots glided the plane to land it safely on the Hudson river without causing an casualties or injuries to anyone.

The Hero

All the passengers and crew on the flight owe their life to US Airways pilot Chelsey B. Sullenberger III, 57, of Danville, California, known as "Sully" by friends. Though the investigations are still on with regards to the crash, the bottom line is that everybody on the flight is safe!

Pilot Sullenberger is already a hero as praised by passengers and crew on the flight and governor and mayor of New York. There is even an online fan club on Faccebook for the pilot.

The Other Hero, the Co-pilot

I am sure people have been praising pilot Sullenberger, but we should also praise his co-pilot Jeff Skiles, 49, of Oregon, Wis., a 23-year US Airways veteran

More about Sullenberger (from here)

Sullenberger, who has flown for US Airways since 1980, flew F-4 fighter jets with the Air Force in the 1970s. He then served on a board that investigated aircraft accidents and participated later in several National Transportation Safety Board investigations. He is president of Safety Reliability Methods, a California firm that uses "the ultra-safe world of commercial aviation" as a basis for safety consulting in other fields, according to the firm's Web site.

Praise from Fans and Others

"OMG, I am terrified of flying but...

US Airways flight 1549 lost both its engine 3 minutes after taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport. Since the plane generate power from its engines, the plane lost all its power but still the pilots glided the plane to land it safely on the Hudson river without causing an casualties or injuries to anyone.

The Hero

All the passengers and crew on the flight owe their life to US Airways pilot Chelsey B. Sullenberger III, 57, of Danville, California, known as "Sully" by friends. Though the investigations are still on with regards to the crash, the bottom line is that everybody on the flight is safe!

Pilot Sullenberger is already a hero as praised by passengers and crew on the flight and governor and mayor of New York. There is even an online fan club on Faccebook for the pilot.

The Other Hero, the Co-pilot

I am sure people have been praising pilot Sullenberger, but we should also praise his co-pilot Jeff Skiles, 49, of Oregon, Wis., a 23-year US Airways veteran

More about Sullenberger (from here)

Sullenberger, who has flown for US Airways since 1980, flew F-4 fighter jets with the Air Force in the 1970s. He then served on a board that investigated aircraft accidents and participated later in several National Transportation Safety Board investigations. He is president of Safety Reliability Methods, a California firm that uses "the ultra-safe world of commercial aviation" as a basis for safety consulting in other fields, according to the firm's Web site.

Praise from Fans and Others

"OMG, I am terrified of flying but I would be happy to be a passenger on one of your aircraft!!" Melanie Wills in Bristol wrote on the wall of "Fans of Sully Sullenberger." "You have saved a lot of peoples lives and are a true hero!!"

 The pilot "did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure that everybody got out," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off, and tried to verify that there was nobody else on board, and he assures us there was not."

"He was the last one up the aisle and he made sure that there was nobody behind him."

Gov. David Paterson pronounced it a "miracle on the Hudson."

Passenger Beth McHugh, 64, of Charlotte, said: "That pilot has to be commended. He steered that plane so well. I just can't believe how well he did. We're all alive because of him."

Candace Andersen, a member of the Danville Town Council who lives a few blocks from Sullenberger, said it was an amazing story and she was proud to live in the same town as the pilot.

"You look at his training, you look at his experience. It was just the right pilot at the right time in charge of that plane that saved so many lives," Anderson said. "He is a man who is calm, cool, collected, just as he was today."