20 Things You Didn't Know About 'Sully'

'Sully' is out in cinemas tomorrow. Based on the true story behind ‘The Miracle on The Hudson’, the movie is directed by Clint Eastwood.

'Sully' stars Oscar-winner Tom Hanks as the real life hero Captain Chesney “Sully” Sullenberger, who miraculously landed his disabled plane on the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 aboard on January 15, 2009. 

The film also stars Aaron Eckhart as Sully’s co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, and Oscar nominee Laura Linney as Sully’s wife, Lorrie Sullenberger.

Check out the trailer: 

To celebrate the release of 'Sully' on December 2nd, we've brought you 20 fascinating facts that celebrate the extraordinary life and career of the man behind the 'Miracle on the Hudson'.

1. Sully’s lifelong passion for flying was sparked at five years old when he witnessed the awe-inspiring sight of jets taking off from the now-defunct Perrin Air Force Base near his childhood home in Denison, Texas.  A lifetime later, he would mentor kids who share his love for aviation as co-chair of the EAA Young Eagles program.
2. First taking to the air at 16 years of age, Sully has yet to come down.  Even after retiring from commercial piloting, he continues to fly privately solely for pleasure.  “I never had a Plan B,” he admits.  “I don’t know what I would have done had I not been able to fly.”
3. Earning top marks throughout his education, Sully set his sights on the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but was reluctant to show up speaking with his native Texas drawl.  The subsequent hours spent studying NBC’s flagship news broadcast The Huntley-Brinkley Report in his youth, he jokes, account for the news anchor cadence of his speaking voice today.
4. During his freshmen year at the Air Force Academy, Sully began shaping the gliding skills he would leverage in his forced landing four decades later in the university’s cadet glider program, advancing to the role of instructor pilot by the end of the year.  Upon his 1973 graduation, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship Award, given to the top flier in each graduating class. 
5. In 1975, Sully completed jet training and served as a fighter pilot for the next five years, flying F-4 Phantom jets.  Stationed in North America and Europe, he advanced to become a flight leader and training officer, ultimately attaining the rank of Captain.
6. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Air Force Academy, Sully also holds two master’s degrees – an MA in Industrial Psychology from Purdue University, which also recognized him with an honorary Doctorate of Letters; and an MA in public administration from the University of Northern Colorado.
7. In 1980, Sully was hired by Pacific Southwest Airlines and continued on as a pilot for US Airways when it acquired the airline in 1986.  As a commercial pilot, he was guided by a deep commitment to safety and an enduring love for his job.  After four decades in the air, he had logged more than 20,000 hours of flight time when his instincts as a pilot were put to the ultimate test on January 15, 2009.
8. As images of the “Miracle on the Hudson” circled the world, Sully’s wife, Lorrie Sullenberger, recalls, “mail by the tubs-full started flowing into our house with the most extraordinary stories from people.”
9. Having delivered a ray of hope amid a global news cycle mired in a decade of dark events, the experienced pilot and his exceptional crew – comprised of co-pilot Jeff Skiles and flight attendants Doreen Welsh, Sheila Dail and Donna Dent –  were celebrated as heroes the world over and given a standing ovation during the pre-show festivities at Superbowl XLIII.
10. Sully soared to #2 in Time Magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009, second only to First Lady Michelle Obama; he was invited to throw out the first pitch of the 2009 Major League Baseball season for the San Francisco Giants, wearing a jersey emblazoned with his now-famous nickname and the number 155; and his Facebook page garnered more than 600,000 “likes.”  Even so, Sully prefers to recognize the efforts of all involved rather than to be singled out.  “People came together of their own initiative and did their jobs exceedingly well, and that’s what saved all of our lives,” he says.  “I think that’s why we’ll always remember that day and that flight.  We have much to be grateful for and much to celebrate.”
11. Behind the scenes, Sully was repeatedly called upon to defend his actions to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) over an 18-month-long investigation to deconstruct the chain of events leading to the loss of a $60 million airplane – initially while plagued by nightmares about what could have happened – what very well would have happened – had he not trusted his instincts.  Nonetheless, he fully understood the gravity and importance of the NTSB’s task, having served as an accident investigator for the U.S. Air Force and the Air Line Pilots Association.
12. At the conclusion of the NTSB investigation, the entire crew of US Airways Flight 1549 was honored with the Master’s Medal by The Honourable Company of Air Pilots, incorporating Air Navigators. 
13. In February of 2009, Sully was also called to testify before the U.S. Congress, and took the opportunity to speak out about broader issues affecting the U.S. aviation industry over the past decade, noting, “It is my personal experience that my decision to remain in the profession I love has come at a great financial cost to me and my family.  My pay has been cut 40%; my pension, like most airline pensions, has been terminated and replaced by a PBGC guarantee worth only pennies on the dollar.”  He concluded with a warning that the loss of experienced pilots could ultimately compromise passenger safety. 
14. After taking a much-needed break from the public eye, Sully celebrated his return to commercial flying by reteaming with co-pilot Jeff Skiles to honor the partnership that one expert described as “a magnificent piece of aviation professionalism.”  He would fly with Skiles one last time a little over a year following the famous incident, when the two partnered on Sully’s final retirement flight in 2010.
15. Having witnessed the “Miracle on the Hudson” along with the rest of the world, the librarians at the California State University, Fresno, were shocked to receive a call from Captain Sullenberger himself concerning the fate of its copy of Just Culture: Balancing Safety and Accountability.  The book, which Sully had borrowed via his local library, had gone down with the disabled airliner.  Struck by his sense of responsibility over the late fees in light of the extraordinary circumstances by which the book was lost, the library did him one better: waiving all fees and placing a template in the replacement book dedicating it to him.
16. A fierce and lifelong advocate for flight safety and crew preparedness, Sully’s vital efforts to advance and refine industry practices and protocols include developing, implementing and teaching a Crew Resource Management course at US Airways; contributing to the development of airline safety protocols for a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular; and developing and being featured in the multi-award-winning video training program, Miracle on the Hudson: Prepare for Safety.
17. Following his official retirement from commercial piloting on March 3, 2010, Sully founded the safety, performance and reliability consulting company Safety Reliability Methods Inc.  He now extends his expertise beyond the aviation industry to apply his passion, experience and expertise to a variety of business environments.  He has become an in-demand lecturer, speaking at diverse institutions all over the world on safety, crisis management, leadership and living a life of integrity.
18. Sully’s youthful acumen for speaking like a news anchor finally paid off in 2011, when CBS News hired him as their new on-camera aviation and safety expert.
19. His memoir, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, co-written with Jeffrey Zaslow, became a New York Times best seller when it was published in 2009, followed by his well-received 2012 book, Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America’s Leaders.
20. All these years later, Sully’s passion for flying has never waned.  “It’s something that has given my life purpose and meaning, and great satisfaction,” he says.  “It’s been a lot of fun becoming particularly good at something that’s difficult to do well.”

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