Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot celebrated for landing a crippled US Airways jet on the Hudson River in 2009, has announced he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He is 75 years old.
Sullenberger became one of the most recognized figures in American aviation history on January 15, 2009, when he guided Flight 1549 to a safe water landing after both engines were shut down by a bird strike shortly after takeoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport. All 155 people on board survived. The moment, witnessed by millions with a view of the Manhattan skyline, became known as the Miracle on the Hudson. His co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles and flight attendants Sheila Dail, Donna Dent, and Doreen Welsh helped guide passengers onto the wings of the aircraft as emergency crews moved in for rescue.
In a statement released this week, Sullenberger said the disease is in its early stages. "It is early stage," he said. "For now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don't sleep as well, but I am in the beginning of this long journey." He described Alzheimer's as "the unwanted visitor at the door."
Sullenberger said his decision to go public was deliberate. "So this new phase of my life has challenged what it means to be of service," he said. "And the answer is to speak up. It is my hope that by sharing this, other families living in the shadows with this disease will feel they too can step forward."
The Alzheimer's Association reports that more than 7 million Americans aged 65 or older are living with the disease. Among younger Americans, researchers estimate around 200,000 people have Alzheimer's.
Sullenberger had long used the phrase "Courage is contagious" in interviews following the 2009 landing. In his statement this week, he struck a similar tone looking ahead. "Though it may impact my memory of the past," he wrote, "this diagnosis will not prevent me from looking forward to and appreciating our future."
NPR, which reported on the announcement, noted that Sullenberger has been revered for decades for his composure under pressure, and that his willingness to speak openly about his diagnosis drew on that same quality in a far more personal setting.
