Captain Chelsey ‘Sully’ Sullenberger announced he’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
“Though it may impact my memory of the past, this diagnosis will not prevent me from looking forward to and appreciating our future. I will navigate this chapter with my wonderful family by my side,” he said in a statement.
“Over the years, when people would ask about the successful outcome of Flight 1549, I would say that ‘courage can be contagious,’ and on that day it helped everyone band together to get everyone off that airplane successfully. Now we need that courage to battle this disease. I am now part of a larger community with many of you, and we will be courageous together.”
Sullenberger is known as “The Miracle on the Hudson” pilot.
In January of 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 was headed to North Carolina from New York when the plane struck a flock of geese and began to experience engine failure.
He landed the commercial plane successfully on the Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew survived.
Sullenberger was also a member of the U.S. Air Force, an accident investigator, and a U.S. Ambassador to ICAO.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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