Hudson River hero pilot awarded by Academy - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Hudson River hero pilot awarded by Academy

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — The US Airways pilot who safely landed his plane in New York’s Hudson River has received an airmanship award from the Air Force Academy, where he graduated in 1973.

Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III received the Col. James Jabara Award for Airmanship on Wednesday and reviewed a parade of all 4,000 cadets at the elite school.

Sullenberger didn’t speak at the ceremony but was scheduled to address cadets at an event Wednesday night that was closed to the public. He also planned to fly a glider during his two-day visit to the academy, which ends Thursday.

Sullenberger, 58, is well-known at his alma mater, where he studied psychology and served as a glider pilot instructor. He was in the same graduating class as the academy’s superintendent, Lt. Gen. John Regni.

When he was commissioned, Sullenberger was named best aviator in his class, winning an award called “Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship.” He served in the Air Force until 1980, when he became a commercial pilot.

Sullenberger now lives in Danville, Calif. He has flown for US Airways for nearly 30 years and runs a safety consulting firm.

He landed the US Airways jetliner in the Hudson after it was struck by geese and lost power after taking off on Jan. 15. All 155 people aboard survived.

“He was working under extreme pressure, and without the discipline that he got here, I don’t think he would have been able to do that,” 23-year-old Cadet Raymond Zhang told The Denver Post.

The Jabara airmanship award established in 1967 is named for Col. James Jabara, who recorded 15 aircraft kills during the Korean War.