Hero 'Sully' reunites with plane passengers 15 years later

Posted by Valentine Belue on Monday, August 19, 2024

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If Pam Seagle gets her way, a baby named River Hudson will soon be a tribute to Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and his “Miracle on the Hudson.”

Seagle, who was a passenger on US Airways Flight 1549, is set to become a first-time grandmother in late March and keeps “trying to convince” her daughter Kelsey and son-in-law, Tate Hudson, to invoke the 2009 emergency landing she survived 15 years ago.

“It’s kind of a joke, a running joke,” Seagle, 57, of Wilmington, NC, told The Post.

“She likes the name ‘River,'” Seagle said of her daughter. “I think it’s just a little too tongue in cheek for them.”

Sullenberger, now 72, reunited Thursday with Seagle and other key figures from his historic Hudson River landing. It was Jan. 15, 2009, when the Airbus A320 he was flying struck a flock of geese, disabling both engines.

The pilot knew he didn’t have time to return to Queens or reach New Jersey, prompting him to glide the disabled aircraft onto the Hudson River near West 50th Street. All 150 passengers and five crew members survived.

Sullenberger reunites Thursday in Manhattan with journalist Katie Couric, who landed the first interview with the hero pilot following the “Miracle on the Hudson” on Jan. 15, 2009. The Paley Center for Media hosted the event, “Miracle on the Hudson: How ‘Sully’ and Flight 1549 Inspired a Nation.” Stephen Yang

Among those at Thursday’s “Miracle on the Hudson: How ‘Sully’ and Flight 1549 Inspired a Nation” event, held at The Paley Center for Media on West 52nd Street in Manhattan, were Flight 1549 passenger Barry Leonard, as well as first responder Hilda Roque-Dieguez.

“I’m glad that people remember it, but it was particularly important that they felt I was in command on that flight and immediately after the landing,” Sullenberger told The Post Thursday. “As the captain, I felt intensely the obligation that I had.”

That dedication continues to inspire Seagle, she told The Post.

US Airways Flight 1549 passenger Pam Seagle said her “incredible gratitude” to Sullenberger and his crew has never been stronger. Stephen Yang

“It’s always moving when you see him,” she said. “You’re so grateful, so indebted.”

“Courage can be contagious,” added Sullenberger, who retired in 2010. “It was important that my crew knew in the tone of my voice that I had a plan, that I got this. That’s critically important in such a crisis that the leader, the decision-maker — the captain in this case — set the tone for everything to follow.”

The Airbus A320 lost power to both engines after striking a flock of geese minutes into the 2009 trip from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, NC. REUTERS

Seagle, who suffered hypothermia during the ensuing rescue, praised Sullenberger and his crew for helping her reach her next destination as a grandmother.

“What really stands out is how everyone worked together,” she said. “We helped each other get off the plane, people helped me out of the water, helped me get onto a ferry. It was such collaboration … There’s always this incredible gratitude, but this year felt special.”

US Airways Flight 1549 co-pilots Jeff Skiles, left, and Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger at Thursday’s reunion at The Paley Center for Media in Manhattan. Stephanie Augello/Shutterstock

US Airways Flight 1549 co-pilot Jeff Skiles, 64, said he no longer regularly thinks about the emergency, but felt an intense camaraderie on Thursday.

“Obviously this was a life-changing event for everybody involved — for Sully and I as well as the passengers,” Skiles said. “So to reunite with them over time like this, it’s always something welcome because it’s kind of like, you know, you’ve been in the foxhole with them.”

First Responder Dr. Hilda Roque-Dieguez, left, along with CNN anchor Kate Bolduan, Flight 1549 passenger Pam Seagle, Capt. Jeff Skiles, journalist Katie Couric, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, passenger Barry Leonard and producer Allyn Stewart at Thursday’s event. Stephanie Augello/Shutterstock

Sullenberger and Skiles especially remain close, staying in communication “constantly,” Skiles said.

“It’s a bond, as you might imagine, that’s never going to be broken,” he said.

The Airbus A320 that landed in the Hudson River is now housed at Sullenberger Aviation Museum in Charlotte, where a 35,000-square-foot gallery featuring the aircraft is slated to open in summer 2024. AP

Locally, however, Sullenberger was dissed in October when a Manhattan community board scuttled a proposal to dedicate part of West 50th Street near 11th Avenue in his honor, suggesting a memorial or plaque near the Hudson River instead.

A nonprofit group, meanwhile, wants to commemorate Sullenberger, his crew and first responders with a bench along the Hudson. Some $5,000 had been donated to the Friends of Hudson River Park as of Thursday.

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