Hero pilot: Splash landing in Hudson 'surreal'

[February 03, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- US Airways pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, praised as a hero for safely landing his jet in the Hudson River last month, is describing the ordeal as "surreal."

The pilot admitted that as he guided the Airbus 320 with 155 passengers to a splash landing he felt "calm on the outside, turmoil on the inside."

Sullenberger was briefly interviewed by ESPN during Super Bowl festivities in Tampa, Fla., where he and his crew were given a standing ovation.

Sullenberger described the realization that he had lost total power in both engines following a suspected collision with a flock of birds as "shocking."

All passengers and crew members were rescued safely.

The pilot and his wife are to appear together in an interview to be broadcast Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes."

[Associated Press]

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