Seventeen years after safely landing a plane on the Hudson River and saving the lives of 155 people, Capt. Chesley Sullenberger has revealed he’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
“I recently found out I have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. It is early stage,” Sully told People.
“For now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don’t sleep as well, but I am in the beginning of this long journey,” he said.
The diagnosis
Sullenberger first noticed something was off a little more than a year ago. He’d always had a sharp memory, but he started forgetting things here and there.
Those changes eventually led to his diagnosis. “My doctor, Dr. Gil Rabinovici with UCSF Medical Center, has opened my eyes to the prevalence of Alzheimer’s,” Sullenberger said of the brain disorder, which is the leading cause of dementia.
“This disease, he has told me, spares no age group and impacts millions of people around the world. It is the unwanted visitor at the door,” he added.
Speaking out
The retired pilot wanted to share his diagnosis in the hope of bringing more attention to the progressive neurodegenerative disease.
“Like millions of families that are impacted by this disease, we debated next steps,” he said. “I have spent my life in service, in the U.S. Air Force, as a commercial airline pilot, an accident investigator, as the U.S. Ambassador to ICAO. I have advocated for the safety of the traveling public for decades.”
“And of course after the landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, I used the greater voice afforded to me by The Miracle on the Hudson to further aviation safety by speaking out on the many issues facing the industry. I was proud to work with many colleagues, fighting for increased pilot training, more pilot rest, in favor of the two-pilot rule, on increased technology issues, and more,” he continued.
New service
Sullenberger said this new chapter has given him a different kind of purpose. “This new phase of my life has challenged what it means to be of service. And the answer is to speak up,” he said.
“It is my hope that by sharing this, other families living in the shadows with this disease will feel they too can step forward,” he continued.
He added that the Miracle on the Hudson taught him and his family how powerful hope is, noting, “We can all use a little of that hope right now.”
‘Courage can be contagious’
On January 15, 2009, Sullenberger safely landed a plane on New York City’s Hudson River after the aircraft hit a flock of birds and lost power in both engines. The emergency landing saved the lives of all 155 people on board.
“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,” he said.
“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,” he concluded.
