New York feted its latest hero, the pilot who landed a distressed US Airways jetliner on the Hudson River, saving all 155 on board in what experts called a masterful job under life-or-death pressure. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger had yet to appear in public one day after he brought the Airbus A320 to a textbook emergency landing on the river between New York City and New Jersey in what New York Governor David Paterson called "a miracle on the Hudson."
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the pilot would not be available to the media until he had finished providing information to federal investigators. US transportation investigators planned to interview Sullenberger on Friday and will review reports that the plane lost power in both engines when it struck a flock of birds shortly after taking off from New York's LaGuardia airport.
"Hemingway defined heroism once as grace under pressure and I think it's fair to say that Captain Sullenberger certainly displayed that yesterday," said Bloomberg, who will present the crew with a ceremonial key to the city. Sullenberger, 57, a former US Air Force pilot and air safety consultant, steered the crippled jetliner over the densely populated city and brought it down on the river, warning passengers to "brace for impact."
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