Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger, ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ pilot, retiring from US Airways

‘Miracle on the Hudson’ pilot retiring

NEW YORK — Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who piloted a US Airways flight during its emergency water landing on the Hudson River in January of last year, is retiring.

Sullenberger, 59, joined US Airways’ predecessor airline in 1980. Until 2007, the mandatory retirement age was 60 for commercial pilots in the U.S. The top age for retirement is now 65.

Flight attendant Doreen Welsh, 59, who was on Flight 1549 when it landed in the Hudson, is also retiring. Welsh, 59, joined US Airways’ predecessor airline in 1970.

All 150 passengers survived the emergency river landing in January 2009 when the plane’s engines were struck by birds. The plane landed within minutes of taking off from New York’s LaGuardia. It was supposed to fly to Charlotte, N.C.