Hudson Miracle Hero suffers from Alzheimer’s: “I’ve been through worse”

O pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, known as the hero of the “Miracle of Hudson” for having managed to tie on the Hudson River in New York, United States, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s this summer. However, he refuses to be afraid of the disease, remembering that he has already done “more difficult things”. 

“ I recently found out I was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. It is at an early stage”, said the pilot, on his website, in July. “For now, this means that I may have difficulty remembering names, forgetting stories I’ve told recently or not sleeping so well, but I’m just at the beginning of this long journey.”

Now, in an interview with the 75-year-old “Good Morning America”, Sully spoke openly about the disease for the first time.

The pilot Sully became known worldwide in 2009, when he starred in the so-called Hudson Miracle. On January 15, that year, a U.S. Airways plane left LaGuardia bound for Charlotte and ended up crashing into a flock of birds shortly after takeoff. The solution was to tie powerless on the Hudson River, saving all 155 aboard.

Asked about whether this episode gives him the strength to face Alzheimer's disease, Sully stressed: “Yes, I’ve been through more difficult situations than this”

“ One must draw up a plan, execute it perfectly for the first time, without ever having done that before, and save all lives in 208 seconds”, he continued. “If not a person had survived, I would have considered it a tragic failure. I would have felt that deeply for the rest of my life.”

“ So I think we are doing the same here,” he added. “We are clearly focusing first on what is a priority and ignoring all that we do not have time to do, considering it just a distraction and something unimportant.”

Sullenberger is receiving monthly treatments to delay the progression of the disease and said he initially wanted to keep the diagnosis a secret. However, he decided to speak openly about it to help others.

“ This is a disease, not a failure of character”, said his wife, Lorrie Sullenberger, in the interview. “I think we need to talk about this more openly, and maybe other people can do the same.”

The pilot said that the first signs of the disease were to forget things that he would not normally forget, such as people's names and events.

“ If you have doubts, take the test, because the sooner you act, the more options there will be and the better will be the result ", appealed. 

FULL: ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ pilot Capt. Sully is breaking his silence about his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in an exclusive interview with Robin Roberts, detailing how he and his family are navigating the diagnosis and what they want others to know about the brain disorder. pic.twitter. with/chiBzmq1qf

— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 23, 2026

After the accident, Sully was honored by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. President George W. Bush.

The pilot was invited to the inauguration of Barack Obama, who took over the White House days after the forced dwindling. In 2009, she was still considered the second most influential person by Time magazine, only behind the then First Lady, Michelle Obama.

The story inspired the film "Sully the Hudson River Hero", directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks. 

Despite the happy ending, the pilot was investigated by the National Council for Security in Transport (NTSB), which considered that there could be useful time to arrive at an airport and that Sully would have jeopardized the lives of 155 people without need. 

Subsequently, the investigation report concluded that the aircraft collided with a flock of birds and that, despite being risky, it saved all passengers and crew from the aircraft.