On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley âSullyâ Sullenberger III saved 155 lives when he successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the cold waters of the Hudson River off midtown Manhattan. The event â called the âMiracle on the Hudsonâ â solidified his status as an international hero and a master in airline safety and effective leadership. In his memoir, Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, Sullenberger says he realized that his journey to the Hudson River that day didnât begin at New Yorkâs LaGuardia Airport, but decades before at his childhood Texas home. âIn many ways, all my mentors, heroes, and loved ones â those who taught me and encouraged me and saw the possibilities in me â were with me in the cockpit of Flight 1549. My entire life led me safely to that river,â he says.