Where Is Captain Sully Now? All About the Pilot's Life 16 Years After His Heroic Hudson River Landing Saved 155 Lives

It’s been more than 15 years since Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III saved 155 lives with a remarkable emergency landing on the Hudson River — and the moment remains deeply personal.

“In our household, January has always been full,” he wrote in a January 2026 Facebook post. “It brings the birthdays of our two daughters and then, much to Lorrie’s chagrin, my own. In 2009, the landing on the Hudson River quite literally landed in the middle of all of that.”

The retired pilot continued, “Those personal moments and that extraordinary day now arrive together each year. One looks ahead to what is to come, the other looks back at a day that tested everything I knew and everything I was prepared to do.”

Dubbed the "Miracle on the Hudson," Sullenberger safely landed US Airways Flight 1549 in New York City’s waters after a bird strike disabled both engines. Despite the unprecedented emergency, all 155 passengers and crew members survived, cementing the Air Force veteran’s place in aviation history.

Sullenberger returned to work eight months after the miracle landing and continued to work until his retirement in 2010. Since then, the former pilot has become a leading voice on aviation safety and published two books, one of which was adapted into a Clint Eastwood-directed movie starring Tom Hanks.

So, where is Captain Sully now? Here's everything to know about the pilot's life, 16 years after he made that miraculous emergency landing.

What did Capt. Sully do?

On Jan. 15, 2009, Sullenberger was piloting an Airbus A320 from N.Y.C.’s LaGuardia Airport when the plane's two engines suddenly lost thrust after hitting a flock of geese. Passenger Brad Wentzell recalled what he saw from his seat in a January 2024 interview with PEOPLE.

"I had a perfect view of that left engine where I was sitting, and it was on fire. It was sparks coming out, flames coming out," he says. "You just knew something was wrong."

Though the captain — who had over 20,000 hours of logged flight time — received clearance from air traffic control to return to LaGuardia or land at the nearby Teterboro Airport, he said they couldn't make it.

"We can’t do it," Sullenberger said, according to an audio recording of the incident. "We’re gonna be in the Hudson.”

The Air Force veteran and his crew of five told their 155 passengers to brace for impact as they made an emergency water landing in the Hudson River. Everyone on board survived.

"My definition of success for that flight was complete, absolute: had even one person perished, I would've considered it a tragic failure,” he told PEOPLE in January 2024. “I couldn't have celebrated any of this."

Sullenberger received international acclaim for his heroic actions, including a Congressional resolution that recognized his bravery and an invitation to former President Barack Obama's inauguration. He was also named one of TIME's Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009.

Why did Capt. Sully’s plane not sink?

The Airbus A320 did sink — just not at first. Although the portion of the aircraft that first hit the water suffered severe damage and ruptured, allowing water to enter the cabin, the plane remained afloat, in part due to its partially empty fuel tanks, per Brittancia.

That brief buoyancy allowed the passengers and crew enough time to exit the plane before it sank further into the river. Airbus A320 was removed from the river days after the incident and was put on display at the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, N.C., in 2011.

In 2024, the facility was renamed the Sullenberger Aviation Museum.

Did Capt. Sully fly again after Flight 1549?

Yes, Sullenberger did return to the cockpit after Flight 1549. He piloted a limited number of flights the following year before retiring in 2010.

Beyond flying, Sullenberger served on US Airways’ flight operations safety management team and wrote the New York Times bestseller Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters. He's also spent more than a decade speaking about aviation safety, crisis management and leadership.

"I have a richer, fuller life than I did before," he told PEOPLE in January 2024. "I'm doing things professionally as a keynote speaker that I never anticipated. I never thought I'd be good at it."

He added, "I was never one who sought the limelight or wanted to be the life of the party, or [was] comfortable talking in front of big groups, and now it's amazing what you can learn to do and become good at.” 

According to his LinkedIn page, he still flies privately.

Where is Capt. Sully now?

Sullenberger has worked as a keynote speaker for The Harry Walker Agency since 2010, according to his LinkedIn. From December 2021 to July 2022, he served as the U.S ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization, per CNBC.

He has resided in San Francisco with his wife, Lorrie, whom he's been married to since 1989. They share two daughters and welcomed their first grandchild in 2024.

"When the newest Sullenberger arrived and I looked into her eyes, I saw the next generation, which gave me joy, hope, gratitude, and a glimpse into the future," Sullenberger captioned a November 2025 Instagram post. "And for her, I want to leave the world better than I found it."