After high school in 1969, I was appointed to the Air Force Academy. In ’73, I studied for my postgraduate degree and became a USAF pilot in 1974. After my discharge in 1980, I became a commercial pilot and flew my first airline flight at Pacific Southwest Airlines in 1980. Chesley Sullenberger Read Quote
In the bad old days, captains were not good leaders. They didn’t build teams; they were arrogant and autocratic. Chesley Sullenberger Read Quote
When I testified before Congress after the Hudson River landing, Congressman James Oberstar of Minnesota said, ‘Safety begins in the boardroom.’ That’s as true in medicine as it is in aviation. It always boils down to leadership. Chesley Sullenberger Read Quote
My mother was a first-grade teacher, so I credit her with this lifelong intellectual curiosity I have, and love of reading and learning. Chesley Sullenberger Read Quote
My father volunteered in early 1941, before Pearl Harbor, and became an officer in the U.S. Navy. As I was growing up, he taught me the responsibility of command: A leader is ultimately responsible for every aspect of the welfare of people under his or her care. That was a deeply felt obligation in his generation. Chesley Sullenberger Read Quote
I took my first flying lesson in 1967, when I was 16. By October 1968, I had 70 hours in the air and got my pilot’s license. Chesley Sullenberger Read Quote
My wife Lorrie actually looked in the dictionary to see what the definition was of heroism because it had been used so much. She found at least one definition is someone who chooses to put themselves at risk to save another. Chesley Sullenberger Read Quote
Every day we wake up, we have an opportunity to do some good, but there’s so much bad that you have to navigate to get to the good. Chesley Sullenberger Read Quote
Each generation of pilots hopes that they will leave their profession better off than they found it. Chesley Sullenberger Read Quote
