Nearly 15 years after the "Miracle on the Hudson," Sully reunites with co-pilot, passengers in New York City
NEW YORK -- Next week will mark 15 years since the "Miracle on the Hudson," when pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger landed a plane on the Hudson River, saving all 155 people on board.
Sully, his co-pilot and some of those passengers reunited Thursday night in Manhattan.
On Jan. 15, 2009, U.S. Airways Flight 1549 hit a flock of geese after taking off from LaGuardia Airport. With seconds to react, Sullenberger landed the plane on the Hudson River, saving everyone on board.
"At a time when we needed it, it gave us hope," he said Thursday.
Federal investigators call it the most successful emergency water landing in history. New Yorkers call it the "Miracle on the Hudson."
"When you look back on the day 15 years ago, what is it that really resonates with you today and really sticks with you?" CBS New York's Ali Bauman asked.
"It's that I think at a time when we needed it, during the '08-'09 financial meltdown when it seems like human nature was mostly about selfishness and greed, this group of strangers rose to the occasion and made it their mission in life to see that every life was saved, and that's the potential that each of us has," Sullenberger said.
Fifteen years and six city blocks from the Hudson River, Sully and then-co-pilot, Jeff Skiles, reunited with some of the passengers at the Paley Center for Media in Midtown.
"That was my first trip out of training on the airplane. I just qualified the Friday before on an Airbus 320, a new airplane for me, and this happened right away," Skiles said.
The now-Captain Skiles is still a pilot.
"What's resonated even more with the passing years is you realize all the public safety networks that we have out there that helped us so much, you know, from our air traffic controllers to the fire boats, the first responders at the ferry docks, the medical community in New York City. This could not have happened without everybody working together for a common goal and that surprises me even today," he said.
Watch: "Miracle on the Hudson" passenger looks back on that day
Meanwhile, passengers Barry Leonard and Pam Seagle still get a bit nervous on a plane.
"I count to 90, which is when the birds hit, every time the plane takes off because I know if we can get above 90 seconds, that I'll be OK," Leonard said.
"I'm also a more educated flyer. I research the aircraft, I know where the exits are, I pay attention to the flight attendants," Seagle said.
But after 15 years, they're still inspired by the hero who saved them.
"Everyone wants to believe that when they get on that plane, there's a Sully flying the plane, and there's that out that it's not always catastrophic when something goes wrong," Seagle said.
Sullenberger has become an aviation safety advocate over the years and believes the industry has improved, but says there is still more work to be done
"We need to attract a lot more people to aviation who have two things -- the aptitude and attitude, because in a safety critical domain, we must have people who understand that just good enough isn't in aviation and requires people who will constantly strive for excellence," he said.
Excellence that Sully, Skiles and everyone aboard Flight 1549 demonstrated on that fateful day.