Hero Pilot Praised by Nation, Passengers and President Bush

Jan. 17, 2008— -- Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who successfully ditched his US Airways jet in the Hudson River, has become an overnight sensation.

Sullenberger has been credited with saving 155 lives after performing the expert watery crash landing Thursday and has since spawned a national following. From T-shirts that read "Sully is My Co-Pilot" to dozens of fan Web sites, the veteran pilot is being hailed as an "angel," a "true hero" and even a sex symbol.

On the popular gossip Web site TMZ.com, fans voted Sullenberger hotter than movie star Hugh Jackman.

President George W. Bush and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are among the pilot's biggest fans.

While presenting citations to the emergency workers and ferry operators who rescued the passengers from the frigid waters off Manhattan, Bloomberg said Friday he planned to present Sullenberger with a key to city.

Bush called to praise Sullenberger, who is known to friends as "Sully" but to headline readers around the world as the "hero of the Hudson."

"It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure everybody got out," Bloomberg said of the veteran pilot and Air Force Academy graduate.

Passengers of the plane, who all escaped without major injury, have also been singing pilot's praises.

"You've got to give it to the pilot. He made a hell of a landing," said Jeff Kolodjay, 31, a passenger.

Sullenberger, 57, has more than 40 years of flying experience and served as an air force fighter pilot and instructor.

Reached at her home in Danville, Calif., his wife, Lorraine Sullenberger, described her husband as a "pilot's pilot."

"He's very controlled and very professional," said Sullenberger. "We haven't actually talked a lot, but we're very proud."

"[My] husband has said over the years that it is highly unlikely for a pilot to ever have an incident in his career, let alone something like this ... I have said for a long time that he's a pilot's pilot and loves the art of the airplane," she said.

No stranger to safety and accident investigations, Sullenberger has assisted in several National Transportation Safety Board probes, served as safety chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association and founded an air safety company, Safety Reliability Methods, according to the company's Web site.

Sullenberger is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and received master's degrees from Purdue University and the University of Northern Colorado.