Tukwila's Museum of Flight will welcome Captain Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III to speak at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 8.

Tickets are $10 general admission and $5 for museum members. For more information, call 206-764-5720 or visit www.museumofflight.org
As pilot in command of the US Airways Flight 1549 that was dubbed the "Miracle on the Hudson," Captain Sullenberger has been hailed as a national hero for his quick thinking and outstanding aviation skills that saved the lives of 155 passengers and crew on Jan. 15, 2009.

On that day, shortly after taking off, Sullenberger reported to air traffic control that the plane had hit a large flock of birds, disabling both engines. After discussing his options with air traffic control and determining that he could neither return to LaGuardia Airport nor attempt to land at the Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, Sullenberger determined that ditching in the Hudson River was his only option. Telling the passengers to "brace for impact," he piloted the plane to a smooth ditching in the river, where all passengers and crew members were rescued. The last to leave the aircraft, Sullenberger checked the passenger cabin twice to make sure everyone had evacuated before retrieving the plane's maintenance logbook.

A pilot for US Airways and its predecessor, Pacific Southwest Airlines, since 1980, Sullenberger has more than 40 years and 27,000 hours of flying experience, and has run his own safety consulting business since 2007. He has served as an instructor, Air Line Pilots Association safety chairman, accident investigator, and national technical committee member.

A 1969 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Sullenberger served as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, flying F-4 Phantom IIs. Attaining the rank of captain, he was a member of the official aircraft accident investigation board.

Sullenberger was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons by Time magazine, and received the Master's Medal from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, the Jabara Award for Airmanship from the USAF Academy, and the Key to the City from the City of New York.