Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the pilot who successfully landed a plane on the Hudson River in New York City in 2009, saving more than 100 lives, is opening up about his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
“It is early stage. 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,” he said in a statement shared on his website, “but I am in the beginning of this long journey.”
One of history’s most famous aviators, Sully is also one of approximately 7.2 million Americans 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s, according to the National Library of Medicine. He said he learned of his condition — an irreversible brain disorder that degrades memory — back in August 2025, and he has been working hard to understand and adjust to it in the months since. His wife, Lorrie, told People that Sully has remained strong and grounded in light of his diagnosis, adding that they are living each day with “hope” and “joy” alongside their daughters and grandchildren.
“Just as he was the same steady person before and after Flight 1549, he is the same steady person now, before and after this diagnosis,” she said.
“That strength and steadiness is guiding us as a family,” Lorrie continued. “We’re supporting him on this journey that we now walk with so many other families.”
On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 struck a flock of Canada geese shortly after taking off from LaGuardia Airport. The collision caused both engines to fail, and Sully, with the help of first officer Jeffrey Skiles, safely glided the jet onto the Hudson River. All 155 people onboard were subsequently rescued by ferries already in the area.
Tom Hanks famously played the pilot in the 2016 film, “Sully,” which tracks the miraculous emergency landing on the Hudson.
Sully said he hopes to use his platform to help others struggling with similar conditions.
“I have spent my life in service, in the U.S. Air Force, as a commercial airline pilot, an accident investigator, and as the U.S. Ambassador to ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization),” he said.
“This new phase of my life has challenged what it means to be of service,” Sully continued. “And the answer is to speak up. It is my hope that by sharing this, other families living in the shadows with this disease will feel they too can step forward. And about hope.”
The pilot added: “Though it may impact my memory of the past, this diagnosis will not prevent me from looking forward to and appreciating our future.”