Sullenberger shares lessons learned in Hudson River landing
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
U.S. Airways pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger unexpectedly fine-tuned his leadership skills in a most unusual situation: in 208 seconds while landing a disabled jet in the Hudson River.
He shared what he learned in those seconds with attendees of the Southeast Conference on Conflict Management at the Don R. Elliott Distinguished Presidential Lecture luncheon on April 6. The annual conference is hosted by Lipscomb University’s Institute for Conflict Management, housed in the College of Leadership & Public Service.
On Jan. 15, 2009, Capt. Sullenberger had to quickly draw upon more than 30 years of experience to lead his craft, crew and 155 passengers to safety after multiple bird strikes to US Airways Flight 1549 caused both engines to fail shortly after takeoff.
After split-second evaluation of options, Sullenberger and his crew safely guided the Airbus A320 to an emergency water landing in New York City’s frigid Hudson River. All were evacuated from the partially submerged plane and rescued by nearby watercraft. The incident came to be known around the world as the “Miracle on the Hudson.”
“An ego left unchecked can be a leader’s worst enemy, especially in the midst of a crisis,” said Sullenberger. “We work so hard not to be surprised by anything, but we had actually not trained for this specific situation — a bird strike that leads to landing a plane in a river. So, what I quickly had to realize that as captain of the aircraft, I was the leader and it was up to me to manage the situation.
“I had to control my emotions, compartmentalize in spite of the stress, and set clear priorities. I knew that there was not time to do everything that I needed to do, so I chose to do only the most important things but do them very, very well. And as the leader it was up to me to solve the problem. Because we knew the cause of the thrust loss, we did not have to spend time trying to figure out what happened; we immediately started figuring out how to solve the problem,” he continued.
Sullenberger said, just as many leaders in crisis do, he not only drew upon his years of experience to help solve the problem, and he relied on the experience of his copilot and crew.
“I knew the plane extremely well, its nuances and everything about it,” said Sullenberger. “But leaders can’t have big egos. Ego can be a leader’s worst enemy. If left unchecked it can wall you off from interaction and collaboration with others — you will fly solo. And leaders need others.
“If you don’t build a team, and do it well, and listen to them — especially in moments like I experienced — given enough time, given enough trials, you will fail. And when you fail, you may fail spectacularly. You have to listen to your teammates,” he continued.
?Sullenberger said that the job of a CEO “is very simple — to do the very best they can do for their employees and customers.” That’s what directed him in the cockpit of the plane that day.
“As leaders, just like in this experience for me, when we find ourselves in unexpected moments of crisis we have to manage one problem at a time until we solve them all. I didn’t know at the outset what steps it would take to solve the problem,” he recalled. “But I did know that my job wasn’t over until everyone on that plane was accounted for.”
Sullenberger and his crew received international acclaim for their actions that day, including the passage of a Congressional resolution recognizing their bravery. Sullenberger was ranked second in TIME's "Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009” and was awarded the French Legion of Honour. This story is being made into a movie directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks as Sullenberger.
Dedicated to the pursuit of safety for his entire adult life, Sullenberger is an aviation safety expert and accident investigator, serves as the CBS News Aviation and Safety Expert, and is the founder and chief executive officer of Safety Reliability Methods Inc., a company dedicated to management, safety, performance and reliability consulting.
Born and raised in Denison, Texas, Sullenberger pursued his childhood love of aviation at the United States Air Force Academy, where, in his final year, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship Award. In addition to his bachelor’s degree in psychology, he also has two master's degrees, one in industrial psychology from Purdue University and one in public administration from the University of Northern Colorado. He also has an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Purdue University.
Upon graduation from the Air Force Academy, Sullenberger served as a fighter pilot for the United States Air Force from 1975 to 1980. He advanced to become a flight leader and a training officer, attaining the rank of captain. After serving in the Air Force, Sullenberger became an airline pilot with Pacific Southwest Airlines, later acquired by US Airways.
From 2009 to 2013, Sullenberger served as co-chairman of EAA Young Eagles—a program that inspires and educates youth about aviation. He is The New York Times best-selling author of "Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters" and also wrote "Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders."
"I realized through this experience that my reputation had been built one person, one interaction, one day at a time. That’s true for each of us. In every encounter there is inherently an opportunity for good, for ill, to make a difference. You choose which way it goes,” he said.
“At the end of our lives instead of counting what we have accumulated, I suspect that we will ask ourselves, ‘did I make a difference?’ I hope your answer is yes.”
Other presenters featured at the conference included Samar Ali, attorney, Bone McAllester Norton PLLC, “International Conflict Management: The Syrian Conflict from a Personal Perspective;” Cynthia Greer, mediator, trainer and designer of conflict resolution system, “Insights for Helping Divorcing Couples in Negotiating New Relationships for Their Families and Getting On with Their Lives;” Jeff Thompson, New York Police Department hostage negotiator and mediator, “Effective Mediators & Nonverbal Communication” and “Crisis and Hostage Negotiation: Learn Skills Used By Law Enforcement and Apply It to Your Practice;” Tracy Allen, international mediator and arbitrator, Eric Galton, Lakeside Meditation Center, “Leadership in the Time of Crisis: Deterring Negotiation Impasse” and Barry Stephens, senior minister, Monterey Church of Christ, Lubbock, Texas, “Leading Under Pressure: Challenge and Change in Congregations.”
The Don R. Elliott Distinguished Lecture is designed to expose the Lipscomb University campus and the surrounding community to persons of influence in one or more issues of contemporary debate or discussion, with a preference for issues related to economics or political science. The Elliott Lecture is funded by an endowment established at Lipscomb by the Don R. Elliott Foundation.
For more information about the Institute for Conflict Management, visit icm.lipscomb.edu.
—Photos by Kristi Jones