Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III shared some heartbreaking health news, telling PEOPLE that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
The diagnosis came in August 2025 after he began to notice that he was forgetting things.
"It is early stage. For now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don’t sleep as well,” Sullenberger told the outlet in a statement, “but I am in the beginning of this long journey.”
Sullenberger is known for having landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009, after a bird strike destroyed the engines. As a result, he was able to save all 155 passengers and crew. His heroics were captured in the 2016 film "Sully," directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks.
Sullenberger retired from flying in 2010. He was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in September 2025.
"Just as he was the same steady person before and after Flight 1549, he is the same steady person now, before and after this diagnosis," his wife Lorrie added, saying that the couple is living each day with “hope” and “joy."
He decided to use his platform to let others going through this that they are not alone.
"I have spent my life in service, in the U.S. Air Force, as a commercial airline pilot, an accident investigator, and as the U.S. Ambassador to ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization),” Sullenberger told PEOPLE. "I have advocated for the safety of the traveling public for decades. And, of course, after the landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, I used the greater voice afforded to me by ‘The Miracle on the Hudson’ to further aviation safety by speaking out on the many issues facing the industry.”
“I was proud to work with many colleagues, fighting for increased pilot training, more pilot rest, in favor of the two-pilot rule, on increased technology issues, and more," he added. "This new phase of my life has challenged what it means to be of service. And the answer is to speak up. It is my hope that by sharing this, other families living in the shadows with this disease will feel they too can step forward. And about hope. So many people told us after Flight 1549, that the outcome gave them hope. Lorrie, my incredible partner of 37 years, says we can all use a little of that hope right now.”
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