Bob Collins
One of America’s greatest heroes stopped flying for a living today.
Chesley Sullenberger, 59, arrives in Charlotte around 2 p.m. on his last flight before retiring. True to his understated nature, there isn’t going to be any great ceremony for his last flight, something that’s pretty unheard of for professional pilots.
Sullenberger, as if I have to point out, was one of the pilots on the US Airways plane that ditched in the Hudson River last year.
Doreen Welsh, one of the flight attendants on the Hudson River flight, is also retiring today. She got one line in US Air’s press release.
In January, Sullenberger inspired Phil Hansen of St. Paul, to making art…
Sullenberger is going to make more speeches, push his book, and fulfill his new role — along with first officer Jeff Skiles — as the chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles program, which offers free rides to kids in order to get them interested in aviation.
Update 5:14 p.m. — A commenter below asks for more information on Ms. Welsh. Here she is telling her story.
