Hero pilot Capt. ‘Sully’ on leadership, airline safety — and his Cal Poly connection

Capt. Chesley Sullenberger — just call him Sully — has a special place in his heart for Cal Poly.

His oldest daughter, Kate, graduated from the university in 2015. The now-retired airline pilot, made famous in 2009 when he guided US Airways Flight 1549 to a safe landing on the Hudson River in New York City, said he has fond memories of walking through San Luis Obispo’s downtown farmers market.

And Sullenberger will return to SLO when he speaks Thursday at the Performing Arts Center.

“We’ve been supporters of Cal Poly for quite some time,” he said in a recent interview with The Tribune.

“It’s a very vibrant town,” he added. “We discovered that very early on.”

Invited to speak by the Cal Poly Center for Leadership, Sullenberger has worked as a motivational speaker, consultant and safety advocate since retiring as an airline captain in 2010. He said he and Flight 1549 co-pilot Jeff Skiles have been given a unique opportunity to “use this bully pulpit we’ve been given by circumstance” to advocate for improving the safety of the traveling public.

“It’s good that I’m recognized for this event,” he said of being forced to crash land an Airbus A320 after it lost both engines because of bird strikes in what became known as “The Miracle on the Hudson.” “Being the face of a good event is a good job, it’s an important job.”

Sullenberger again rose to national prominence in 2016 when Tom Hanks portrayed him in a Clint Eastwood-directed biopic on the ordeal. He said his visibility gives him authority to challenge the airline travel industry, which, he said, has forgotten the need for utmost safety, “not just what’s expedient or cheapest.”

“I’m trying to undo the work of industry lobbyists around Capitol Hill,” he said.

Sullenberger cited a 2010 aviation safety law passed after public pressure following a fatal airline crash in Buffalo, New York, in February 2009. The law resulted in “improved pilot experience standards” and addressed pilot fatigue concerns. Previously, the minimum number of flight hours required to become a commercial airline first officer was 250; now it’s 1,500.

Sullenberger said those changes ushered in “the safest period in aviation history.” But he said airline industry lobbyists are trying to roll standards back “to the bad old days.”

“This is a battle that is still being played out,” he said. “A game of Whack-a-Mole, but it’s not a game. It’s real life with real lives at stake.”

Leadership skills

Although Sullenberger’s background is in aviation, with experience as both a military and commercial pilot, he said his skill set as a leader is transferable to other industries.

“What I see is that we’re all trying to solve the same problems,” he said.

Sullenberger spoke of his own role models, including his grandparents, parents and other pilots. He said pilots in particular demonstrate traits of “being good leaders and building teams.”

“I think part of it is having human skills and not just technical skills,” he said.

He said those skills were incredibly important now that mergers have left just a handful of major airlines.

“We fly all the time with people we’ve never seen before,” he said.

He said it’s the job of a captain to “take this team of experts and turn them into an expert team.”

One arena in which Sullenberger’s leadership qualities haven’t led him, however, is politics.

He resisted efforts by the Republican Party of California, which reportedly sought to recruit Sullenberger as a political candidate against California Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney.

Asked to evaluate the leadership of President Donald Trump, Sullenberger paused for a moment to reflect, then said, “Like a majority of Americans, I have been shocked by what has happened in this country.”

He said he feels a civic duty to be the best, most informed citizen he can be, “to be an independent, critical thinker” capable of making decisions “not based on facts, fears or falsehoods.”

As for his fame, he said he still gets recognized, “not all of the time but just often enough.”

He added that it’s happened less “since I shaved my mustache off.”

Sullenberger speaks at 8 p.m.; doors open at 7. Tickets are on sale at PACSLO.org.

This story was originally published November 26, 2017 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Hero pilot Capt. ‘Sully’ on leadership, airline safety — and his Cal Poly connection."