WIFE: SULLYS A PILOTS PILOT
The wife of the pilot who safely landed a crippled jetliner in the Hudson River says her husband is a “a pilot’s pilot” who “loves the art of the airplane.”
Lorrie Sullenberger also says it’s “a little weird” to hear the country calling him a hero.
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Sullenberger and her two daughters spoke outside their California home Friday morning a day after pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III guided a US Airways jetliner to a safe landing in New York.
She said when her two daughters went to sleep Thursday night, “I could hear them talking, ‘Is this weird or what?'”
It turns out Sullenberger was the right guy – and not just because he has the right stuff.
Fortunately for the 150 passengers aboard Flight 1549, Sullenberger also happens to be one of the aviation community’s foremost safety experts – and he’s a certified glider pilot.
A day after the amazing incident, Sullenberger was in good spirits and showing no outward signs of stress from the ordeal, a pilots union official said.
Sullenberger, 57, has four decades of flight experience under his belt, including a stint as an Air Force fighter pilot.
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Aside from flying military fighters and commercial jets for US Airways, Sullenberger is a respected authority on safety matters who has been a consultant to NASA and the National Transportation Safety Board, and is even credited with identifying flawed Federal Aviation Administration procedures.
He also runs a company, Safety Reliability Methods Inc., that helps apply the safety techniques he’s perfected to other industries.
According to the Web site of his company, Sullenberger was “instrumental in the development and implementation of the Crew Resource Management course used at his airline, and has taught the course to hundreds of his colleagues.”
And the maneuvers he used to land the jet – which turned into a giant glider when birds destroyed both its engines – proved he knew his stuff.
“I can imagine him being sufficiently in charge to get those people out,” Karlen Roberts, a friend of the pilot, told the Contra Costa Times, his hometown California newspaper.
Sullenberger’s wife, Lorrie, told The Post his flying skills are impeccable.
“He’s the consummate pilot,” she said. “He’s about performing that airplane to the exact precision to which it is made.”
Neighbors in Danville, Calif., were proud of their local hero.
“I was actually wondering if it was him because he’s so competent and so calm and always thinks things through,” a neighbor said. “If anyone could do it, Sully could.”
Next-door-neighbor Jake Brown agreed. “It doesn’t surprise me,” he said.
Sullenberger, who has two daughters, is a great family man, Brown added.
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Within a few hours of the heroics, two Facebook groups popped up to honor Sully.
“He landed a plane in the Hudson River and, remarkably, the plane was intact and all of the passengers lived to tell their story,” said Christopher Gines, who created one of the pages.
“My hat’s off to the best pilot I have ever come to know – indirectly.”
A 1973 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Sullenberger flew Air Force F-4s and served as a training officer in Europe and the Pacific.
“We assume his military training was certainly helpful in that situation – it certainly prepared him for situations such as that,” Air Force Lt. Col. Brett Ashworth said.
After leaving the military in 1980, Sullenberger began his tenure as a commercial pilot for US Airways.
“Obviously, this was very quick thinking on the part of the pilot,” said James Ray, of US Airways’ pilot union. “It was tremendous execution. We’re all most surprised that the plane actually floated.”
Now Sully has legions of fans in New York, as well.
Michael Savage, a millionaire New York businessman, has even offered to take Sullenberger to Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration as his guest.
And New Jersey Net star Vince Carter is also an admirer, having seen the drama unfold from the window of his Weehawken, NJ, home.
“I thought I was watching TV,” he told The Post. “It landed like it was a movie. It hit like nose first, and you could [hear] the impact. I couldn’t believe it.”
Sullenberger’s co-pilot was Jeff Skiles, 49, of Oregon, Wis., a 23-year US Airways veteran.
” “He was relieved that everybody got off,” said wife Barbara.
Sullenberger’s impressive résumé pales in comparison to yesterday’s heroics, a fellow US Airways pilot told The Post.
“It’s nothing short of incredible,” he said.
Additional reporting by Fred Kerber, Katherine Romero and Post Wire Services
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