Captain Chesley Sullenberger, III, the pilot of US Airways, Flight 1549, is known to most Americans by his nickname, “Sully”. Sully miraculously executed an emergency landing of a jet plane that took off from LaGuardia Airport on January 15, 2009. His heroic, expert flying technique and years of preparation allowed him to safely land his air bus A320 in the Hudson River. All 155 passengers on board were safely removed from the plane. This spectacular feat of pilotry did give him an enormous amount of publicity.

Sully is a charming true American hero. He talks about himself with genuine modesty. He credits his training and commitment to becoming the best pilot he can possibly be.

Sully has collaborated with Wall Street journal writer, Jeff Zaslow , to write his memoir entitled, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters. This book recounts the details of the miraculous emergency landing. It also talks about Sully’s upbringing and various events in his life that shaped his character. These events enabled Sully to grow into a man capable of handling the challenge of safely landing a large air bus A320 airplane in the Hudson River with both engines knocked out by bird strikes.

Sully in his book states ” In so many areas of life you need to be a long term optimist, but a short term realist. Sully’s philosophy should act as an example to many of us when dealing with difficult situations. Sully is a true American hero and an excellent role model for many of us to follow.

Elliot Schlissel