The hero of the Hudson as he is called. Captain Sully is most known for saving all 155 people on board of the Airbus A320, after a birdstrike caused both engines to shut down, and thus forced landing in the Hudson river. Sully was the Captain of US airways flight 1549, which was on Janurary 15, 2009. Not only is Sully an influential person in aviation, but was also named TIME magazines top 100 most influential hero's and icon of 2009.
Sully's aviation career got off to an early start, by the age of 16 he had already learned to fly in a Aeronca 7DC. And at the age of 18 he enrolled at US Air Force. Sully was employed by US Airways from 1980 to 2010. In his new position with US Airways, sully is a manager pilot, in addition to flying for US Airways, he will join the safety team. During his 40 years of flying he has over 19,000 of flight time.
I believe Sully is influentian to aviation because not only did save the 155 people on board, but he also went infront of congress and flat out told them that its not easy now a days to become a pilot. In this article Sully and his copilot explain there pay has been cut big time, and the pension is long gone.This is an intresting quote from the Copilot Jeffrey B. Skiles, "unless federal laws are revised to improve labor-management relations experienced crews in the cockpit will be a thing of the past." And Sullenberger added that without experienced pilots "we will see negative consequences to the flying public."
Sullenberger himself has started a consulting business to help make ends meet. Skiles added, "For the last six years, I have worked seven days a week between my two jobs just to maintain a middle class standard of living."
Captain "Sully" is a very influential person in aviation today. He is one of the few that does not just care about himself and his job, but is trying to make it easier for future generations to become pilots. His speech in my opinion to congress is one of the best a member of the aviation industry has given to them. Trying to make it more reasonable instead of close to impossible.
ReplyDeleteCaptain Sully does seem like a person people can turn too. He should confidence in his training and it's not a surprise he has gotten this far in his career.
ReplyDeleteIn deed, Hudson River incident was one of the great examples of how a well trained aviator can safely land an aircraft in such circumstances. With no doubts, Captain Burnett is an influential man in the industry, at least the American one, and considered a good crew member to learn from and follow when it comes to safety and experience. I found your article very interesting. Both; Burnett and his copilot did an excellent job standing in front of congress and demonstrate pilot's nowadays challenges.
ReplyDeleteI think perhaps the biggest reason Sully is influential is what you mentioned - in his role as a spokesperson for the industry. Yes, he has a lot of experience backing him up. Yes, he made a lot a good choices in response to the bird strike. But these things are not unique to Sully. His ability to be influential as a result of his experience is the thing that's unique.
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