Pilot who landed in Hudson takes stand in Phoenix

— -- US Airways' pilots union, on trial in Phoenix for allegedly ignoring the interests of some its members in a dispute over merger seniority, launched its defense with some serious star power on Friday.

The US Airline Pilots Association called Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, famed captain of the US Airways flight that successfully ditched in the Hudson River in January, as its first witness in the jury trial.

He was on the stand for less than a half-hour and immediately left the courtroom, but he packed a punch with his strong criticism of a seniority list issued by an arbitrator two years ago. Seniority is paramount for pilots as it dictates pay, work schedules, promotions, vacations and job security.

"I was shocked by its one-sidedness," Sullenberger said of the list.

The union was formed to evade the arbitrated list and instead do seniority based on a pilot's date of hire, which favors the old US Airways because it's much older than America West.

A group of former America West pilots filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court last fall over the matter and have repeatedly said the arbitrated list was final and binding and followed the old union's merger policy. They say the new union is breaching its "duty of fair representation."

Sullenberger was on the potential witness list for the trial, as is his Flight 1549 co-pilot, Jeffrey Skiles. But it was unclear when and if he would appear at the trial that began Tuesday and is expected to go for another week.

Attorneys for the America West pilots did not learn of his pending appearance until lunchtime Friday.

The America West pilots had slammed his potential appearance as a desperate move by the union to capitalize on Sullenberger's celebrity. The judge in the case, responding to a request to possibly rearrange schedules to accommodate Sullenberger, even briefly questioned what his testimony would add.

Sullenberger, a 29-year veteran of US Airways and its predecessors, has no personal stake in the outcome of the case because his seniority is sky-high no matter what seniority list is eventually used to merge the pilot ranks of America West and US Airways.