'Hudson Miracle' pilot makes his final flight

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger has flown his final flight.

The pilot who landed a US Airways plane safely on New York's Hudson River in January 2009 said yesterday that he was retiring after 30 years and planned to spend some of his time pressing for more flight safety regulations.

"My message going forward is that I want to remind everyone in the aviation industry - especially those who manage aviation companies and those who regulate aviation - that we owe it to our passengers to keep learning how to do it better," he said at a news conference shortly after his flight landed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Sullenberger, 59, officially retired at a private ceremony in Charlotte with fellow pilots and other US Airways employees. He had joined US Airways' predecessor airline in 1980.

His final flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to his base in Charlotte took just under two hours. It arrived at 2:48 p.m. - 17 minutes ahead of schedule.

Sullenberger's copilot during the Hudson landing, First Officer Jeff Skiles, and about a half-dozen of the passengers who were also on Flight 1549 that day, joined him on his final trip yesterday. As they walked off the plane, people in the airport recognized the pilots and applauded.

All 150 passengers survived the emergency river landing when a flock of Canada geese was sucked into the plane's engines minutes after the flight had taken off from New York's LaGuardia Airport, headed for Charlotte.

Sullenberger said he intended to spend more time with his family in retirement and would write another book. He will also continue to talk to lawmakers about raising minimum qualifications for pilots and work to lower the maximum number of hours that pilots are able to work in a single day, he said.

He said that it was more difficult to be a pilot today than 30 years ago when he began his career.

"There is so much pressure to hire people with less experience," he said. "Their salaries are so low that people with greater experience will not take those jobs. . . . There's simply no substitute for experience in terms of aviation safety."

Sullenberger said the crash in the Hudson changed his life.

"Quite frankly, prior to Jan. 15, 2009, I was planning to work for the rest of my life. And I'm still not retiring from work," he said. "I'm retiring from the airline so I can use my time on other issues of great importance of this moment."

Flight attendant Doreen Welsh, 59, who was on Flight 1549 and was injured in the crash, also officially retired yesterday. She joined US Airways' predecessor airline in 1970.