<Tr> <Th> Rank </Th> <Td> Captain </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Awards </Th> <Td> Time magazine's "100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons" (2009), Master's Medal from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, Key to the City from the City of New York, Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship and Jabara Award for Airmanship from the United States Air Force Academy Chris Matthews' The Hardball Award Officier of the Légion d'honneur </Td> </Tr> <P> Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III (born 1951) is a retired American airline captain who, on January 15, 2009, landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River off Manhattan after both engines were disabled by a bird strike; all 155 persons aboard survived . Sullenberger is a speaker on airline safety and has helped develop new protocols for airline safety . He served as the co-chairman, along with First Officer Jeffrey Skiles, of the EAA's Young Eagles youth introduction - to - aviation program from 2009 to 2013 . </P> <P> Sullenberger retired from US Airways after 30 years as a commercial pilot on March 3, 2010 . In May of the following year, Sullenberger was hired by CBS News as an Aviation and Safety Expert . </P>

The pilot that landed on the hudson river