February 05, 2009
Captain Sully Recalls Hudson Crash
Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger sat down with Katie Couric for his first interview about the Hudson River crash -- and relived what happened as the plane went down.
In a cockpit recording shared with Couric on "60 Minutes," Sully is heard to be calm during the chaos, talking with air traffic controllers after birds took out both of the plane's engines. "[We] hit birds, we lost thrust in both engines," the pilot said in the cockpit recording. "We may end up in the Hudson."
Sully's decision to land the plane in the river ended up saving the lives of all 155 passengers aboard Flight 1549 -- and earned Chesley the recognition of a hero.
The pilot was invited by Barack Obama to attend his inauguration and even got a shout-out at the Super Bowl! Hollywood's finest have also stepped forward to voice their appreciation for Sully's heroics. "Great pilot," Tom Cruise told "Extra" of the captain.
Couric's interview with Sully airs Sunday, February 8 on CBS.
