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127-521: Sullenberger retired from US Airways in 2010, after 30 years as a commercial pilot. In 2011, he was hired by CBS News as an aviation and safety expert. Sullenberger is the co-author, with Jeffrey Zaslow , of the New York Times bestseller Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters , a memoir of his life and of the events surrounding Flight 1549. His second book, Making a Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders ,

254-519: A Facebook fan site that, as of late February 2009, had half a million members. A library book, Just Culture: Balancing Safety and Accountability was in Sullenberger's luggage left behind in the cockpit. When Sullenberger notified the library that the water-damaged book had been recovered, it made a point of waiving any late fees. Bloomberg presented Sullenberger with a new copy along with the Key to

381-745: A Master of Public Administration from University of Northern Colorado in 1979. Sullenberger was appointed to the United States Air Force Academy , entering with the Class of 1973 in June 1969. He was selected along with around a dozen other freshmen for a cadet glider program, and by the end of that year, he was an instructor pilot. When he graduated in 1973, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship award, as

508-540: A focus city airport for the company. By 2010, Pittsburgh was no longer listed as a US Airways focus city. US Airways now operated an average of only 39 departures a day exclusively to domestic destinations, compared to 2001 when it was a hub with 500+ flights a day with service across the United States and to Europe. Western Pennsylvania leaders and most notably the designer of the 1992 modernization of Pittsburgh International, Tasso Katselas , pointed out that

635-570: A pilot , he completed replacement training in the F-4 Phantom II at Luke AFB , Arizona. This was followed by his assignment to the 493d Tactical Fighter Squadron of 48th Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath , United Kingdom, in the F-4D Phantom II . Following his assignment at RAF Lakenheath, he was reassigned to the 428th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 474th Tactical Fighter Wing at Nellis AFB , Nevada, again flying

762-580: A reverse merger , acquiring the assets and branding of the larger US Airways while putting the America West leadership team largely in charge of the merged airline. In 2013, American Airlines and US Airways announced plans to merge, creating the largest airline in the world . The holding companies of American and US Airways merged effective December 9, 2013. The combined airline carried the American Airlines name and branding and maintained

889-477: A "moral compass ... competence, integrity, and concern for the greater good." In a subsequent interview with Lawrence O'Donnell , Sullenberger elaborated his position, discussing his belief that voters should act as a check and balance in a partisan government. He also wrote that he has been a registered Republican for the majority of his adult life but has "always voted as an American". In February 2020, Sullenberger endorsed former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden for

1016-515: A Difference: Stories of Vision and Courage from America's Leaders , was released on May 15, 2012. In 2019 Sullenberger said that Boeing 737 MAX crashes "are demonstrable evidence that our current system of aircraft design and certification has failed us. These accidents should never have happened." He sharply criticized Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration , saying that the overly "cozy relationship" between

1143-402: A bit of aerial acrobatics . About 20 additional hours of flight practice concentrated on aerial and gunnery training. Ground school, or classroom training for the advanced flying course, varied from about 100 to 130 hours and was intermingled with flight time in the aircraft. Cadets flew in the morning and attended ground school in the afternoons, or flew training missions in the afternoon after

1270-457: A concessionary agreement, forced US Airways into a second round of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceedings on September 12, 2004. Widespread employee discontent and a high volume of employee sick calls were blamed by the airline for a staff shortage around the 2004 Christmas holiday, a public relations disaster which led to speculation that the airline could be liquidated; the USDOT found that

1397-646: A few times in the district's history. Sullenberger, Skiles, and Flight 1549's cabin crew—Doreen Welsh, Sheila Dail, and Donna Dent—were honored with a standing ovation during the Super Bowl XLIII pre-game ceremony on February 1, 2009. Sullenberger was awarded with honorary lifetime membership in the Seaplane Pilots Association . In 2009, Sullenberger was awarded the Founders' Medal by The Air League . Admirers of Sullenberger started

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1524-647: A firm providing strategic and tactical guidance to enhance organizational safety, performance, and reliability. He has been involved in a number of accident investigations conducted by the USAF and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), such as Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 and USAir Flight 1493 . He served as an instructor, Air Line Pilots Association local air safety chairman, accident investigator, and national technical committee member. His safety work for ALPA led to

1651-559: A major accident at Los Angeles International Airport , which "led to improved airline procedures and training for emergency evacuations of aircraft." Sullenberger studied the psychology behind keeping an airline crew functioning during a crisis. Sullenberger was active with his union , serving as chairman of a safety committee within the Air Line Pilots Association . He was a featured speaker for two panels: one on aviation and one on patient safety in medicine, at

1778-572: A mission to train USAF pilots in the new aircraft. Its F-100s were reassigned to other squadrons, which flew the F-100s of the 4510th CCTS. The 310th TFTS sent its A-7Ds to the 333d TFS at Davis-Monthan AFB in July 1971, and became an F-4C RTU. The 425th TFTS was assigned to the 58th as a geographically separate unit in 1969, assigned to Williams AFB . The squadron was established in December 1963 as

1905-615: A morning of ground school. At the peak of the training program at Luke, some students were required to attend night classes. Ground school included instruction in navigation, flight planning, radio equipment, maintenance, and weather. By 7 February 1944, pilots at Luke had achieved a million hours of flying time. By 1946, however, the number of pilots trained dropped to 299 and the base was deactivated 30 November that year. A World War II film, A Guy Named Joe , included some footage filmed at Luke. Soon after combat started in Korea , Luke field

2032-610: A new terminal at its hub in Pittsburgh . In 1996 the alliance between USAir and British Airways ended in a court battle when British Airways announced its intentions to partner with American Airlines. About March 1, 1997 USAir changed its name to US Airways and introduced a new corporate identity. A stylized version of the United States flag was adopted as a new logo. The new branding was applied to terminals and ticket jackets. The airline painted aircraft in deep blue and medium gray with red and white accent lines. That same year,

2159-469: A process of de-emphasizing its hub-and-spoke system to capitalize on direct flights between major eastern airports such as Washington National Airport and New York-LaGuardia . The airline became the 15th member of the Star Alliance on May 4, 2004. Fuel costs and deadlocked negotiations with organized labor, chiefly the Air Line Pilots Association , traditionally the first group to come to

2286-709: A proposed variant of the 737. USAir selected the new 737 and the company worked closely with Boeing during its development, taking delivery of the first plane on November 28, 1984. In 1979, USAir's network was east of the Mississippi, plus spokes to Houston and Phoenix; it added Dallas-Ft Worth and Kansas City in 1981, Denver in 1982 and Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego in 1983. It acquired two commuter airlines, Pennsylvania Airlines and Suburban Airlines , in 1985. It bought San Diego –based Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) in 1986 and Winston-Salem, North Carolina –based Piedmont Airlines in 1987. The PSA acquisition

2413-518: A real hero" became the song's refrain. In 2010, Stephen Colbert , Jon Stewart , and Steve Carell released a comedy record called Everybody's Talking 'Bout Sully . "Hudson River Runway", the March 14, 2011, episode of the TV series Mayday , documents the events around Flight 1549's emergency landing and includes interviews with several of its real-life participants. Sullenberger was not interviewed, but

2540-527: A result of the Air Force deciding to consolidate all Air Force training programs under AETC. The 56th Operations Group assumed control over all operational fighter squadrons. The transfer of Luke to AETC gave the command front-line aircraft, bases, and facilities that could be used for realistic operational training. With the return of AETC to Luke, producing a task-certified or more mission-ready apprentice became possible, and operational units could reduce

2667-470: A second F-15 training squadron was established, with the 4461st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron standing up on 23 June. The assets of the 4461st TFTS were redesignated as 461st Tactical Fighter Training Squadron on 1 July 1977. The 550th TFTS traded in its F-4s in August 1977, becoming the third F-15 training squadron. The F-15As, which remained troublesome throughout the 1970s, were replaced in 1982 with

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2794-446: A single contract, each group of crewmembers would fly only on its pre-merger airlines' aircraft and the flights would be marked accordingly. Since the computer systems were merged, former America West-operated flights were marketed as though America West was a wholly owned carrier. This marketing is common practice for airlines that have code-share agreements with other airlines operating aircraft for feeder or regional routes and although

2921-934: A smaller sample size, conducted in April, found that US Airways remained in last place, with its score dropping an additional 10 points. Also in 2007, the Today/Zagat Airline Survey rated US Airways as the worst airline overall in the United States, ranking it 10/30 for comfort, 5/30 for food, 10/30 for service and 15/30 for its online reservations system. On August 1, 2008, US Airways ceased providing free drinks; passengers could buy bottled water or soda for $ 2 or coffee and tea for $ 1. Shuttle flights between LGA , DCA and BOS continued to offer free beverages. US Airways resumed serving complimentary drinks in March 2009. US Airways ranked last out of 20 domestic airline carriers for on-time performance in March, April, and May 2007, according to DOT figures. According to

3048-404: A solo was added to the diamond displays, increasing the show time to 19 minutes. The unit was reassigned to Nellis AFB, Nevada on 23 June 1956. By the end of 1957, ATC basing structure had changed considerably as the result of tactical commitments, decreased student load, and fund shortages. During 1958, ATC discontinued its Flying Training and Technical Training Air Force. As a result, Luke AFB

3175-533: A total of 144 F-35A Lightning IIs. The first F-35A Lightning II arrived to the base on March 10, 2014. It is a designated superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contaminants. Luke Air Force Base was named after Second Lieutenant Frank Luke (1897–1918). Lt Luke is a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient and the number-two United States flying ace in World War I . Born in Phoenix in 1897,

3302-555: A very poor record of addressing customer complaints, answering only 50% of the telephone calls to its customer service department. Luke AFB Luke Air Force Base ( IATA : LUF , ICAO : KLUF , FAA LID : LUF ) is a United States Air Force base in Maricopa County, Arizona , United States. It is located 7 miles (6.1  nmi ; 11  km ) west of the central business district of Glendale , and 15 miles (13 nmi; 24 km) west of Phoenix . Luke AFB

3429-715: A year effective 24 March 1941. On 29 March 1941, the Del. E. Webb Construction Co. began excavation for the first building at what was known then as Litchfield Park Air Base. Another base known as Luke Field, in Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , released its name so the Arizona base could be called Luke Field. Advanced flight training in the AT-6 Texan began at Luke in June that same year. The first class of 45 students, Class 41 F, arrived on 6 June 1941 to begin advanced flight training in

3556-668: Is a major training base of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), training pilots in the F-16 Fighting Falcon . On 31 March 2011, the F-35 Lightning II was announced to be replacing the F-16 as the primary training aircraft at Luke, although the date of deployment of the new aircraft to Luke and reorganization plans were not announced. On 16 July 2013, the Air Force announced that Luke AFB will house

3683-628: Is married to fitness instructor Lorraine "Lorrie" Sullenberger ( née Henry), with whom he adopted two daughters, Kate and Kelly. On December 7, 1995, Sullenberger's father committed suicide by gunshot shortly after he was released from the hospital following major surgery. He had been suffering from depression and a long and difficult convalescence . As a result of this, Sullenberger became a suicide prevention activist, having promoted National Suicide Prevention Week and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline . Radio personality Garrison Keillor wrote "Pilot Song: The Ballad of Chesley Sullenberger III" for

3810-531: Is named for him. It houses a Miracle on the Hudson exhibit. In 2010, Sullenberger retired after 30 years with US Airways and its predecessor. His final flight was US Airways Flight 1167 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he reunited with Skiles and a half dozen of the passengers on Flight 1549. Sullenberger works as an international lecturer and keynote speaker at educational institutions, corporations, and non-profit organizations about

3937-470: The 2008 fuel crisis ended those plans. As a further result of the skyrocketing fuel costs, the airline rolled back the planned summer 2007 service upgrades as well as ending its existing in-flight entertainment on all domestic routes. A Consumer Reports survey of 23,000 readers in June 2007 ranked US Airways as the worst airline for customer satisfaction. The survey was conducted before the airline's March 2007 service disruptions. A follow-up survey polling

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4064-562: The Airline Deregulation Act , Allegheny Airlines changed its name to USAir. A decade later it had acquired Piedmont Airlines and Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA), and was one of the U.S.'s seven transcontinental legacy carriers . In 1997, it rebranded as US Airways. The airline had an extensive international and domestic network, with 193 destinations in 24 countries in North America, South America, Europe, and

4191-658: The F-4D . He advanced to become a flight leader and a training officer and attained the rank of captain . He gained experience in Europe , the Pacific , and at Nellis Air Force Base , and operated as Blue Force mission commander in Red Flag Exercises . He served on an aircraft accident investigation board. Sullenberger worked for US Airways and its predecessor airlines from 1980 until 2010. ( Pacific Southwest Airlines

4318-577: The P-51 Mustang , being replaced by early-model F-84C Thunderjets . Effective 5 March, the 127th was redesignated as the 127th Pilot Training Wing. On 1 November 1952, the active-duty 3600th Flying Training Wing (Fighter), under Commander Charles F. Born , replaced the Air National Guardsmen. ATC flying training squadrons at Luke included: The 3600th FTW became the dedicated training organization for both USAF and NATO pilots in

4445-477: The Seabury Group , suggested putting the airline up for sale. The following month, US Airways Group and America West Holdings resumed their discussions. On May 19, 2005, both airlines officially announced the merger deal, structured as a reverse takeover . Financing for the deal was supplied by outside investors included Airbus , Air Wisconsin (a US Airways Express operator), and ACE Aviation Holdings ,

4572-561: The United States Senate passed a resolution recognizing and honoring Sullenberger, Skiles, the cabin crew, the passengers, and the first responders involved in Flight 1549's emergency landing. The United States House of Representatives passed a similar resolution on January 26, 2009. Sullenberger attended the presidential inauguration on January 20, 2009, where he and his wife met President Obama. On January 22, 2009, he and

4699-426: The "Arizona Balloon Buster" scored 18 aerial victories during World War I (14 of these German observation balloons) in the skies over France. Lieutenant Luke was shot down at Murvaux between Verdun and Stenay, France, on 29 September 1918, after he had destroyed three enemy balloons. Surviving the crash of his SPAD S.XIII , Lieutenant Luke drew two pistols and fired on German soldiers, killing several of them before he

4826-527: The 1960s, thousands of American fighter pilots left Luke to fly missions in the skies over Vietnam in the F-100. In July 1968, the first "LA" tail codes were placed on the tails of Luke-based aircraft. The 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing replaced the provisional 4510th CCTW on 15 October 1969. Although Luke remained under the jurisdiction of TAC, the HQ USAF-controlled (AFCON) 58th TFTW gave

4953-467: The 2017 film Daddy's Home 2 . US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States . It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation , which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it was renamed Allegheny Airlines and operated under that name for a quarter-century. In October 1979, after the passage of

5080-683: The 40th anniversary of his graduation from the school. Sullenberger made an appearance in St. Louis, Missouri , on July 14, 2009, to participate in the Red Carpet All-Star Parade before the 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game . On February 24, 2009, Sullenberger testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Aviation of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that his salary had been cut by 40 percent, and that his pension, like most airline pensions,

5207-751: The 4441st CCTS, with a mission to train Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots on the Northrup F-5A Freedom Fighter . The F-5 training continued at Williams after the end of the Vietnam War, becoming a squadron to train Military Assistance Program pilots from over 20 nations on the F-5. It was discontinued in 1989 and the 425th was inactivated. In the summer of 1971, the 58th TFTW received F-4C Phantom IIs , and

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5334-497: The 58th Fighter Wing was inactivated and moved to Kirtland AFB , New Mexico, with the historical senior 56th FW taking over all assets at Luke. At Kirtland, the wing was redesignated as the 58th Special Operations Wing , leaving all aircraft and equipment at Luke, and reassigned to Air Force Special Operations Command , replacing the Air Training Command 542d Crew Training Wing. On 1 June 1992, Tactical Air Command

5461-478: The AT-6 Texan, along with some transitioning to P-40 Warhawk fighters and later the P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt . Although continually modified during the war years, the course of advanced flight training at Luke averaged about 10 weeks and included both flight training and ground school. Around 60 hours of flying instruction covered formation flying , navigation , and instrument flying , as well as

5588-669: The AT-6, although a few essential buildings had been completed. Flying out of Sky Harbor Airport until the Luke runways were ready, pilots received 10 weeks of instruction and the first class graduated 15 August 1941. Then-captain Barry Goldwater served as director of ground training the following year. During World War II , Luke Field was the largest fighter training base in the U.S. Army Air Forces , graduating more than 12,000 fighter pilots from advanced and operational courses earning

5715-511: The Bureau of Transportation Statistics June 2008 report (using data from May 2008), US Airways ranked seventh for percentage of on-time arrivals. US Airways was the leader in service complaints with 4.4 complaints per 100,000 customers. The US Airways rate of customer complaints was 7.5 times the rate of JetBlue (0.59 complaints per 100,000 customers) and 11 times the rate of Southwest Airlines (0.4 complaints per 100,000 customers). US Airways had

5842-549: The City of New York . Sullenberger threw out the first pitch of the 2009 Major League Baseball season for the San Francisco Giants . His Giants jersey was inscribed with the name "Sully" and the number 155—a reference to the 155 people aboard the plane. On June 6, 2009, Sullenberger returned to Denison to participate in the town's D-Day celebration and to give the commencement address for his alma mater, marking

5969-594: The F-84. The F-84D began having electrical problems with the hot, dry Arizona air, which dried out the aircraft's electrical insulation. They were replaced by F-84E, and shortly afterwards to the F-84G, which was then in use by SAC. In October 1954, ATC redesignated the 3600th as a "Combat Crew Training Wing" to describe its mission better. In January 1954, the swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak began to arrive, and three additional dedicated squadrons were activated: F-84Fs replaced

6096-698: The Flight 1549 crew received the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement in 2010. With coauthor Jeffrey Zaslow , Sullenberger wrote the 2009 bestselling memoir Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters . In the book, Sullenberger also discussed personal matters, including his father's suicide in 1995, the Sullenbergers' struggle with infertility, and their decision to adopt. In May 2011, CBS News hired Sullenberger as an aviation and safety expert. From 2009 to 2013, Sullenberger and Skiles acted as

6223-588: The High Reliability Organizations (HRO) 2007 International Conference in 2007. On January 15, 2009, Sullenberger was the captain of US Airways Flight 1549 , an Airbus A320 taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City . Shortly after takeoff, the plane struck a flock of Canada geese and lost power in both engines. Quickly determining he would be unable to reach either LaGuardia or Teterboro Airports , Sullenberger flew

6350-686: The January 17, 2009, edition of his radio variety show A Prairie Home Companion . Sullenberger's speech before Congress concerning U.S. civil aviation is featured in Michael Moore 's 2009 documentary Capitalism: A Love Story . Sullenberger is referenced in the 2011 romantic comedy film Friends with Benefits . Throughout the film, Justin Timberlake 's character repeatedly suggests to people he meets aboard planes that modern airplanes practically fly themselves, and that Sullenberger's feat

6477-548: The Middle East. The airline was a member of the Star Alliance , before becoming an affiliate member of Oneworld in March 2014. US Airways had 343 mainline jets, as well as 278 regional jet and turboprops flown by contract and subsidiary airlines under the name US Airways Express via code sharing agreements. The airline had severe financial difficulties in the early 2000s, filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy twice in two years. In 2005, America West Airlines carried out

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6604-625: The Phantom era at Luke, receiving Block 1 F-16A Fighting Falcons in November 1982 and April 1983. Luke-based F-16s began carrying tail codes "LF". 310th TFTS officially began training fighter pilots 2 February 1983. In 1990, Luke AFB was placed on the National Priorities List, often called the superfund list in 1990. After many years of cleanup and remediation, on 22 April, it 2002 became the first USAF base to be removed from

6731-481: The Pittsburgh airport itself, since US Airways had signed a 30-year lease and the county had issued $ 600 million in bonds for construction, which were supposed to be paid by US Air. US Air's move eliminated thousands of jobs and was a financial gut punch for the entire Pittsburgh region; former Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said US Air's departure was the "second devastating economic blow after steel in

6858-752: The US Airways and America West computer reservation systems merged. US Airways, which previously used the Sabre airline computer system, switched to the new QIK system, an overlay for the SHARES system, that had been used by America West. A few of the features from the Sabre system were incorporated into the new joint system, with the most prominent being the continued utilization of the Sabre ramp partition "DECS" for all computer functions related to weight and balance, aircraft loading and technical flight tracking within

6985-510: The US Airways brand. Operations were not fully integrated until October 2008, when government approval was obtained to allow the airlines to operate under a single operating certificate . In May 2006, the US Airways and America West web sites were merged. The new US Airways web site united the two brands using graphics and styles reflective of the airline's new livery and services. In July 2006, US Airways and America West ordered 20 new Airbus A350 aircraft. In December 2006, US Airways became

7112-621: The USAF Air Crew School (Fighter Bomber/Escort). The program was to be conducted by the Federalized Michigan Air National Guard 127th Fighter Group , which had transferred from Continental Air Command to ATC, effective 10 February. The wing moved from Romulus Airport , Michigan, to Luke on 23 February, and on 1 March ATC established the USAF Air Crew School (Fighter-Bomber/Escort) at Luke. Fighter-bomber training began on 1 March 1951 in

7239-592: The USAF. Beginning in October 1954, ATC added ABC instruction to its fighter-pilot programs at Luke and Nellis. In addition, ATC established six general ABC courses to train aircrews already in the field, using mobile training teams. On 25 May 1953 the 3600th Air Demonstration Team was officially organized and established at Luke, still officially carrying this designation, now known as the United States Air Force Thunderbirds . At Luke,

7366-542: The airline also introduced a single-class subsidiary known as MetroJet , which competed with low-cost carriers like Southwest Airlines expanding to the East. MetroJet operated Boeing 737-200s , the oldest aircraft in the fleet, allowing it to achieve the best utilization possible before being retired. On November 6, 1996, immediately prior to the rebranding to US Airways, the airline placed an order for up to 400 Airbus A320-series narrow-body aircraft, with 120 firm orders at

7493-621: The amount of on-the-job training provided to new airmen. Within a year, the wing realignment to make the 56 OG an exclusive F-16 group took place. The 555th Fighter Squadron was reassigned to USAFE on 25 March 1994 as part of a realignment of Aviano AB , Italy; its F-15C/D Eagles were sent to Tyndall AFB , Florida, where F-15 air defense interceptor training was being consolidated under the First Air Force . The F-15E Strike Eagle squadrons (461st, 550th) were also inactivated, with their Strike Eagles being sent to Seymour Johnson AFB under

7620-424: The availability of financing and merger partners, and after no financing was available, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy again in 2004 for the second time in two years. The airline merged in 2005 with America West Airlines . Under terms of the merger agreement, the America West board of directors created two new entities. First, a new "US Airways Group" was created to receive the bankrupt US Airways' assets and form

7747-412: The aviation industry and government was evident in March 2019 when Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg lobbied President Donald Trump to prevent the 737 MAX 8 from being grounded. In late October 2018, Sullenberger wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post ahead of the 2018 mid-term elections , calling on Americans to vote "for leaders who are committed to the values that will unite and protect us," who have

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7874-517: The balance was sufficient so that I could make a very large withdrawal." The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that landing on the river was the correct decision instead of attempting a return to LaGuardia Airport because the normal procedures for engine loss are designed for cruising altitudes, not immediately after takeoff. Simulations performed at the Airbus Training Centre Europe in Toulouse showed that Flight 1549 could have made it back to LaGuardia had that maneuver begun immediately after

8001-482: The base. In 1993, First Lt. Jeannie M. Flynn became the first woman to complete training in the F-15E Strike Eagle at Luke. After earning a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Stanford University , she graduated first in her UPT class at Laughlin AFB in December 1992, and chose the F-15 after USAF Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak opened the door for women to fly combat aircraft. The 310th and 311th TFTS retained their F-4Cs until April 1982, ending

8128-446: The bird strike. However, such scenarios both neglected the time necessary for the pilots to understand and assess the situation, and risked the possibility of a crash within a densely populated area. U.S. President George W. Bush called Sullenberger to thank him for saving the lives of the passengers, as did President-elect Barack Obama , who invited him and the crew to join the presidential inauguration ceremony . On January 16, 2009,

8255-1008: The call sign "CACTUS", while the pre-merger US Airways crews primarily flew with their respective aircraft and used the call sign "US AIR". In October 2008, the company began operating under a single operating certificate (that of the former US Airways). This required operation under a single call sign and identifier and that of America West ("CACTUS" and "AWE") were chosen as a sign of the company lineage. In addition, flights operated using former America West aircraft and crews were numbered 1–699, whereas flights operated by pre-merger US Airways aircraft and crews were numbered 700–1999. (Flights numbered 2000–2199 were shuttle services and those 2200 and higher were operated by express subsidiaries.) Aircraft operated by pre-merger US Airways crews or former America West crews flew under two different United States Department of Transportation operating certificates until September 25, 2007. However, until pilot and flight attendant union groups from both sides successfully negotiated

8382-445: The class's "top flyer". Immediately following his graduation with a Bachelor of Science degree and his commissioning as an officer, the Air Force sent Sullenberger to Purdue University to pursue a master's degree prior to entering Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT). Following completion of his master's, he was assigned to UPT at Columbus AFB , Mississippi, flying the T-37 Tweet and T-38 Talon . After earning his wings in 1975 as

8509-427: The co-chairmen of the EAA 's Young Eagles Program , which gives children the opportunity to experience flight and learn about general aviation . Since its inception, the program has flown over 2 million kids and is the most successful of its kind. Through their participation and service to aviation safety , Sullenberger and Skiles received the EAA Freedom of Flight Award in 2015. Sullenberger's second book, Making

8636-422: The company. America West Airlines and US Airways merged FAA certificates on September 25, 2007. Former America West employees (including pilots, fleet service personnel, flight attendants) remained on their original America West union contracts and did not fully combine workforces with their pre-merger US Airways counterparts. Until October 2008, former America West aircraft flew with their respective crews and used

8763-410: The deal. As the largest carrier at Washington National Airport , US Airways was disproportionately affected by that airport's extended closure following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The resulting financial disaster precipitated the closure of the airline's MetroJet network, which led to the closing of the subsidiary's primary operating base at Baltimore-Washington International Airport and

8890-414: The development of a Federal Aviation Administration advisory circular. He was instrumental in developing and implementing the Crew Resource Management course that was used by US Airways, and he has taught the course to hundreds of airline crew members. Working with NASA scientists, he coauthored a paper on error-inducing contexts in aviation. He was an air accident investigator for an NTSB inquiry into

9017-411: The early '80s ." In August 2004, US Airways attempted to build a Latin American gateway at Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood , announcing service to 10 cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. The attempt was largely unsuccessful and short-lived, in part due to Fort Lauderdale's proximity to American Airlines' hub at Miami International Airport and its extensive Latin American network. US Airways also began

9144-577: The early 1990s, USAir expanded to Europe with flights to London, Paris, and Frankfurt from its four main hubs. The company formed partnerships, marketing the Trump Shuttle as the "USAir Shuttle" and accepting a large investment from British Airways that started one of the first transatlantic alliances , resulting in several Boeing 767-200ERs being painted in the British Airways livery, but operated by USAir. In 1992, it also invested in

9271-674: The end of the decade. Although the airline returned to profitability in the mid-1990s, its route network's concentration in the Northeastern United States and high operating costs prompted calls for the company to merge with another airline. Beginning in 2000 US Airways started retiring aircraft in an attempt to simplify its fleet and reduce costs, replacing many of its older planes with the new Airbus A320 -family aircraft. On March 30, 2000, US Airways received its first Airbus A330-300 . On May 24, 2000, US Airways announced plans to be acquired for $ 4.3 billion by UAL Corp.,

9398-710: The existing US Airways hubs for a period of at least five years under the terms of a settlement with the Department of Justice and several state attorneys general. US Airways management ran the combined airline from the American headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas . On April 8, 2015, the FAA officially granted a single operating certificate for both carriers, marking the end of US Airways as an independent carrier. The brand continued to exist until October 2015. Its first hub

9525-510: The first American "legacy" carrier to add the Embraer 190 to its mainline fleet. It remains one of only three American carriers to operate the E190 in scheduled service, JetBlue and Breeze being the others. At the end of 2006, US Airways made a bid for competitor Delta Air Lines , which it opposed, treating it as a hostile takeover by US Airways. The final bid was valued at $ 10 billion but

9652-435: The forerunner to today's US Airways Express carrier Piedmont Airlines , to operate "Allegheny Commuter" flights was the industry's first code-share agreement, a type of service now offered throughout the industry. Allegheny changed its name to USAir in 1979 after the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act the previous year, which enabled the airline to expand its route network to the southeastern United States. USAir

9779-536: The furloughing of thousands of employees. The airline entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 11, 2002, but received a government-guaranteed loan through the Air Transportation Stabilization Board and was able to exit bankruptcy in 2003 after a relatively short period. The airline made major cost reductions during its bankruptcy, but it still encountered higher-than-average per-seat-mile costs. In 2003, US Airways began exploring

9906-413: The guns and plugged the gun ports. In 1955, the USAF selected the swept-wing F-84F Thunderstreak as their second aircraft. The Thunderstreak was modified for the team by adding smoke tanks for the first time, and red, white, and blue drag chutes. In addition, the extreme heat from the lead aircraft, 1,500 °F (820 °C), required moving the slot's radio antenna from the jet's fin. For the first time,

10033-646: The importance of aviation and patient safety, high performance systems improvement, leadership and culture, risk and crisis management, lifelong preparation, and living a life of integrity. In 2011 he presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos and the Swiss Economic Forum. He served as the 2010 Tournament of Roses Parade 's Grand Marshal . In December 2010, Sullenberger was appointed an Officer of France's Legion of Honour . He and

10160-517: The inactivated Aerospace Defense Command , which was merged into TAC. On 19 November 1990, the 555th TFTS changed its course from air superiority combat training with the Eagle to air defense interceptor training with the F-15C/D when TAC began assigning F-15s to interceptor duty, the 426th being inactivated. The 461st TFTS received its first F-15E Strike Eagle in July 1988, and the 550th TFTS became

10287-564: The list, after satisfying the requirement to remove pollution dating back as far as World War II. The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s brought significant changes to the base. On 1 October 1991, the 58th Tactical Training Wing adopted the Air Force Objective Organization Plan, and was redesignated simply as the 58th Fighter Wing (58 FW). All operational fighter training squadrons were reassigned to

10414-502: The merger to close on September 27. Since the merger, US Airways had been headquartered at the former America West corporate offices in Tempe, Arizona , and America West executives and board members were largely in control of the merged company. The company's aircraft merged FAA operating certificate included America West's airline call sign and identifiers "CACTUS" and "AWE". During 2006, the airline began consolidating its operations under

10541-493: The most efficient, least costly, and least financially wasteful airfield in the world. Although conceding that those updates cost more, he argued they were more than offset by Pittsburgh's vast built-in nonnegotiable fuel and time, and to a lesser degree, labor savings. Local officials maintain that Allegheny County "bent over backwards" to accommodate US Airways and saved them millions of dollars, only to be abandoned. US Airways's abandonment of its Pittsburgh hub nearly bankrupted

10668-617: The new 58th Operations Group (58 OG). Training units also redesignated as "fighter squadrons". Units assigned to the 58 OG were: In 1991, the Base Realignment and Closure commission ordered that all flightline activities cease at MacDill AFB by 1993. The host unit at MacDill AFB, the 56th Fighter Wing , moved its F-16 training to Luke AFB, and Luke became an exclusive F-16 Fighting Falcon training base. The F-15s were reassigned to Seymour Johnson AFB , North Carolina, to accommodate additional F-16 training at Luke. In addition,

10795-481: The new corporation. Second, "America West Holdings" was merged into "Barbell Acquisition Corporation", a subsidiary of the new "US Airways Group", on September 27, 2005; through this transaction, "America West Holdings" became a wholly owned subsidiary of the new "US Airways Group". The "America West Holdings" stockholders were required to authorize these changes. Upon completion, 37% of the new "US Airways Group" would be owned by "America West Holdings" stockholders, 11% by

10922-533: The new year, pilot training began in January 1993. On 1 April 1994, after 24 years at Luke AFB, the 58th Fighter Wing was replaced by the 56th Fighter Wing (56 FW), relocated from MacDill AFB , Florida, due to Base Realignment and Closure Commission action, as part of the Air Force Heritage Program. With the reassignment, jurisdiction of Luke AFB was transferred to Air Education and Training Command (AETC), Nineteenth Air Force (19 AF) as

11049-600: The next few years USAir closed down PSA's hubs in California and Piedmont's hubs in Dayton and Syracuse , though both remained focus cities. By 1990, the airline had consolidated its headquarters, moving from Washington National Airport to a new building at Crystal City , in Arlington County, Virginia , near the airport. Maintenance and operations headquarters remained at Pittsburgh International Airport. In

11176-486: The nickname "Home of the Fighter Pilot". The base was under the control of the 37th Flying Training Wing (Advanced Single-Engine) , Western Flying Training Command , AAF Flying Training Command. During the years of World War II, more than 17,000 pilots trained at Luke Field, making it the largest single-engine advanced flying training school in the U.S. More than a million hours of flying were logged, primarily in

11303-441: The old "US Airways Group" debtholders and 52% by new equity investors. The result was the fifth largest US-based airline in terms of revenue. The merger was completed on November 4, 2007. While America West was the nominal survivor, the merged airline retained the US Airways name, since studies indicated that "US Airways" had better brand recognition worldwide than did "America West". In early 2003, US Airways management liquidated

11430-548: The parent company of Air Canada . The merged airline retained the US Airways name to emphasize its national scope, as well as to capitalize on US Airways' worldwide recognition, Dividend Miles frequent flyer program , and Star Alliance membership. On September 13, 2005, America West shareholders voted to approve the merger agreement and three days later the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia approved US Airways' emergence from bankruptcy, allowing

11557-439: The parent company of United Airlines , the world's largest commercial carrier at the time. The complex deal drew immediate objections from labor unions , consumer advocates and antitrust regulators. Negotiations stalled; with both airlines losing money and the deal all but certain to be blocked by the federal government, UAL withdrew its purchase offer on July 27, 2001, paying US Airways a $ 50 million penalty for withdrawing from

11684-518: The pensions of its 6,000 pilots by releasing their pensions into the federal pension program Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation . The company was one of the first major airlines to eliminate pilots' pensions in order to cut costs. Following a trial run of selling in-flight food in 2003, US Airways discontinued free meal service on domestic flights later that year. In late 2003-early 2004, US Airways lobbied for lower operating fees at Pittsburgh International Airport , citing its economies of scale as

11811-565: The plane to an emergency water landing on the Hudson River . All 155 people on board survived and were rescued. Sullenberger said later: "It was very quiet as we worked, my copilot Jeff Skiles and I. We were a team. But to have zero thrust coming out of those engines was shocking—the silence." Sullenberger was the last to leave the aircraft, after twice making sweeps through the cabin to make sure all passengers and crew had evacuated. Sullenberger, described by friends as "shy and reticent",

11938-437: The practice is uncommon for major airlines, it greatly simplified the process for passengers connecting between historically US Airways-operated flights and former America West-operated flights. In the summer of 2007, US Airways began upgrading its in-flight services, from food and entertainment to the training of flight attendants. The airline was planning to test-market a new seatback entertainment system in early 2008, however,

12065-792: The presidency. In September 2020, he worked with Vote Vets and The Lincoln Project to create a commercial urging Americans to vote President Donald Trump out of office. On June 15, 2021, President Biden nominated Sullenberger to be the U.S. representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), with the rank of ambassador . He was confirmed by the Senate via voice vote on December 2, 2021. He presented his credentials to ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar Gómez on February 3, 2022, serving until July 1, 2022. Sullenberger

12192-422: The primary carrier and largest tenant at the airport. US Airways attempted to leverage its adverse cash position and "red ink" in the years following 9/11 to negotiate better financial terms with the airport. The Allegheny County Airport Authority rejected US Airways' demands for reduced landing fees and lower lease payments, in part due to antitrust and FAA regulations that required the airport operator to extend

12319-562: The problems were caused primarily by poor airline management. Even before the second bankruptcy filing of 2004, one of the alternatives US Airways Group explored was a possible merger with America West, as the two airlines had complementary networks and similar labor costs. The parties held preliminary discussions and conducted due diligence from February through July 2004. Ultimately, these talks ended due to issues related to labor, pension, and benefit costs. By December 2004, US Airways had cut labor costs significantly. Its investment adviser,

12446-452: The reason fees and payments were higher than average is expressly because US Airways requested the most modern and advanced airport in the world in return for basing its hub there. Katselas has also been vocal that the issue of negotiable fees and payments are irrelevant when compared to the three biggest costs of any airline: fuel, time, and labor, all of which his redesign of PIT from 1987 to 1992 helped to reduce. In fact, those changes created

12573-625: The rest of the crew of Flight 1549 were awarded a Masters Medal by the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators . A ceremony for Sullenberger was held on January 24, 2009, in Sullenberger's town of Danville, California , where he was presented with awards including Danville's "Key to the Town", and was named an honorary Danville police officer . While in the Tri-Valley , Sullenberger gave his first official interview to Jega Sanmugam of The Wildcat Tribune,

12700-637: The same financial terms to all carriers if it accepted US Airways' demands. US Airways threatened to move traffic to rival hubs in Philadelphia and Charlotte, and the airline made good on its threat in November 2004, reducing its flights at Pittsburgh International Airport from primary-hub to secondary-hub status. This action also resulted in the closing of the commuter terminal, also known as concourse E. The airline, led by former ExpressJet Airlines CEO David N. Siegel , continued to demote Pittsburgh International Airport in subsequent years until it became only

12827-520: The second F-15E training squadron in March 1989. On 1 October 1991, due to the implementation of the Objective Wing at Luke and the "One base, one wing" policy, the 405th TTW was shut down and the F-15s were reassigned back to the 58th TTW. Between 1977 and 1991, Luke AFB had more fighter aircraft than any other base which earned the moniker “Fighter Country,” which was prominently displayed around

12954-451: The squadron initially operated F-84G Thunderjets, as the aircraft had to be able to show how good training made a typical aircraft easy to handle. The aircraft had to be stable for maneuvers in formation, reliable enough to meet show schedules, and rugged for the demonstration team. In addition, the F-84G was the first fighter in the USAF with aerial refueling capability. To convert the aircraft from combat to demonstration, technicians removed

13081-582: The straight-winged earlier models in the original four squadrons by the end of 1956, giving the wing seven squadrons of 21 aircraft each, or about 150 aircraft; 30 more were received in 1957 as some of the older production blocks were transferred to Air National Guard units or to reclamation at Davis-Monthan AFB . For several years, the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project at Sandia Base , New Mexico, had provided all atomic, biological, and chemical (ABC) warfare training for

13208-532: The student newspaper of Dougherty Valley High School , which his daughter attended at the time. In a special February 2009 edition, the Tribune published "Heroism & Humility on the Hudson," covering Sullenberger and the Flight 1549 landing. San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District Chief Richard Price presented Captain Sullenberger with his district's highest award, the Medal of Valor, which had been given only

13335-528: The time of signing. The order was regarded as the largest bulk aircraft request in history. In 1998 the airline followed with an order for up to 30 Airbus A330-series wide-body aircraft , with an initial firm order for seven of the Airbus A330-300s. These orders enabled US Airways to replace its older aircraft with newer, more efficient aircraft. In 1997 US Airways bought the remains of Trump Shuttle . US Airways expanded its flights to Europe through

13462-479: The top of his class of about 350. At 16, Sullenberger learned to fly in an Aeronca Champion 7DC at a private airstrip near his home. He said that the training he received from a local flight instructor influenced his aviation career. Sullenberger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and basic sciences from the United States Air Force Academy . He earned a master's degree in industrial-organizational psychology from Purdue University in 1973 and

13589-620: The updated F-15D. On 25 August 1979, the 405th Tactical Training Wing was activated at Luke by TAC to consolidate the F-15 Eagle Replacement Training Unit operations. It took over the 425th, 461st 550th and 555th Tactical Fighter Training Squadrons The 426th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron converted from F-4 Phantom II to F-15 training in January 1981 specifically to support the TAC Air Defense Command training mission inherited from

13716-706: The wing assumed the F-4 pilot-training role that was formerly done by the 4453d CCTW at Davis-Monthan, when that base was converted to an operational A-7D base by the arrival of the 355th TFW from Takhli RTAFB , Thailand. In November 1974, the Air Force's newest air superiority fighter, the F-15 Eagle , came to Luke. To accommodate the F-15, the 555th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron was activated. The early F-15As, however, were quite troublesome, with engine problems limiting their effectiveness and availability. In June 1976,

13843-457: The wing at Luke a permanent lineage and history that the TAC provisional wing could not carry. The provisional squadrons of the 4510th were redesignated as: * Assigned to the 58th TFTW with the inactivation of the 4540th Combat Crew Training Group (see below) Upon activation of the 310th TFTS, the squadron began receiving new A-7D Corsair II ground-attack aircraft from Ling-Temco-Vought , with

13970-638: Was a launch customer for the Boeing 737-300 , as the airline needed an aircraft with greater capacity to serve its growing Florida markets. USAir was the world's largest operator of DC-9 aircraft at the time and approached McDonnell Douglas to negotiate a new design. However, in the late 1970s, the McDonnell Douglas' proposed successor to the DC-9-50 did not suit USAir. After the negotiations with McDonnell Douglas broke down, Boeing came forward with

14097-451: Was acquired by US Air, later US Airways, in 1988.) He holds an airline transport pilot certificate for single and multi-engine airplanes, a commercial pilot license rating in gliders , and a flight instructor certificate for airplanes (single, multi-engine, and instrument) and gliders. In total, he has more than 50 years and 20,000 hours of flying experience. In 2007, he became the founder and CEO of Safety Reliability Methods, Inc. (SRM),

14224-576: Was born January 23, 1951, in Denison, Texas . His father was a descendant of Swiss-German immigrants named Sollenberger. He has one younger sister, Mary. The street on which he grew up was named after his mother's family. According to his sister, Sullenberger built model planes and aircraft carriers during his childhood; she says he became interested in flying after seeing military jets from an Air Force base near his house. He went to school in Denison and

14351-682: Was completed on April 9, 1988, and the Piedmont acquisition on August 5, 1989. The PSA acquisition gave USAir a network on the West Coast, while the Piedmont acquisition gave USAir a strong East Coast presence and hubs in Baltimore and Charlotte , which remained hubs for USAir. The Piedmont acquisition in 1989 was the largest airline merger until then and USAir became one of the world's largest airlines, with more than 5,000 flights daily to 134 airports (plus 48 more airports on USAir Express). In

14478-622: Was consistently on the 99th percentile in every academic category. At age 11, his IQ was deemed high enough that he was allowed to join Mensa International . In high school, he was the president of the Latin club, a first chair flutist , and an honor student . He was an active member of the Waples Memorial United Methodist Church . He graduated from Denison High School in 1969, near

14605-624: Was expected to take until "late 2016", with new flight attendant uniforms also being introduced in 2016. US Airways traces its history to All American Aviation Inc., a company founded in 1939 by du Pont family brothers Richard C. du Pont and Alexis Felix du Pont Jr. Headquartered in Pittsburgh , the airline served the Ohio River valley in 1939. In 1949 the company was renamed All American Airways as it switched from airmail to passenger service; it changed its name again to Allegheny Airlines on January 1, 1953. Allegheny's first jet

14732-478: Was in Pittsburgh , and it operated hubs in Charlotte , Las Vegas , Philadelphia , Phoenix–Sky Harbor , and Washington–Reagan . The final US Airways flight was San Francisco to Philadelphia via Phoenix and Charlotte , operating as Flight 1939 with 1939 commemorating the birth of All American Aviation, which eventually became US Airways. Repainting of US Airways' planes into the American Airlines scheme

14859-422: Was inactivated, and the new Air Combat Command (ACC) replaced it, assuming jurisdiction of Luke AFB. On 30 December 1992, the 425th Fighter Squadron was activated at Luke AFB. The mission of the 425th was to provide advanced weapons and tactics continuation for Republic of Singapore Air Force 's F-16 pilots and maintenance personnel. Aircraft had already arrived for the squadron in October and shortly after in

14986-496: Was killed. Luke Field, Oahu , Hawaii Territory (now the Naval Air Station Ford Island ), was previously named in his honor. In 1940, the U.S. Army sent a representative to Arizona to choose a site for a U.S. Army Air Corps training field for advanced training in conventional fighter aircraft. The city of Phoenix bought 1,440 acres (5.8 km ) of land, which they leased to the government at $ 1

15113-537: Was less impressive than it was portrayed, an idea for which he encounters incredulity and hostility. Mila Kunis 's character is seen reading Sullenberger's English Misplaced Pages article. The 2010 song " A Real Hero ", by French electronica artist College and the band Electric Youth , is in part inspired by Captain Sullenberger and Flight 1549. Frontman Austin Garrick was inspired to write the song by his grandfather, whose reference to Sullenberger as "a real human being and

15240-649: Was noted for his poise and calm during the crisis; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg dubbed him "Captain Cool". Nonetheless, Sullenberger suffered symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in subsequent weeks, including sleeplessness and flashbacks. He said that the moments before the landing were "the worst sickening, pit-of-your-stomach, falling-through-the-floor feeling" that he had ever experienced. He also said, "One way of looking at this might be that for 42 years, I've been making small, regular deposits in this bank of experience, education and training. And on January 15,

15367-467: Was portrayed in reenactments by actor Christopher Britton . The 2016 dramatic feature film Sully was adapted from Sullenberger's memoir Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters . Directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks as Sullenberger and Aaron Eckhart as Skiles, it recreates the events around the Hudson River landing. Sullenberger appeared as himself in a cameo role in

15494-676: Was published in 2012. He was ranked second in Time ' s Top 100 Most Influential Heroes and Icons of 2009 , after Michelle Obama . In 2021, President Joe Biden announced he would nominate Sullenberger as U.S. representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) with the rank of ambassador . He was confirmed by unanimous consent in the Senate and served in that role from February 3 to July 1, 2022. Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III

15621-475: Was reactivated on 1 February 1951 as Luke Air Force Base, part of the Air Training Command (ATC) under the reorganized United States Air Force (USAF). A steady pipeline of trained bomber-escort pilots was needed by Strategic Air Command (SAC), and the mission of Luke AFB was to augment the jet fighter combat crew training in operation at Nellis AFB . The school at Luke was designated by ATC as

15748-496: Was terminated and replaced by a PBGC guarantee worth only pennies on the dollar. He cautioned that airlines were "under pressure to hire people with less experience. Their salaries are so low that people with greater experience will not take those jobs. We have some carriers that have hired some pilots with only a few hundred hours of experience. ... There's simply no substitute for experience in terms of aviation safety." The Sullenberger Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina

15875-496: Was the Douglas DC-9 in 1966; it absorbed Lake Central Airlines in 1968 and Mohawk Airlines in 1972 to become one of the largest carriers in the northeastern United States. In 1973 it was the ninth-largest airline in the free world by passengers carried (and 24th largest by passenger-miles). With expansion came growing pains: in the 1970s Allegheny had the nickname "Agony Air". Allegheny's agreement with Henson Airlines ,

16002-557: Was transferred to Tactical Air Command (TAC). This reassignment came about as the result of a USAF-directed study of the feasibility of putting combat crew training under the appropriate zone of interior operational commands. With the transfer to TAC, the ATC 3600th FTW was redesignated as the 4510th Combat Crew Training Wing, and flying training at Luke was changed to the F-100 Super Sabre . F-100 training squadrons were: During

16129-434: Was withdrawn on January 31, 2007, since US Airways failed to secure backing from Delta's creditors. The airline stated that it would no longer pursue a possible takeover of Delta. Aircraft were equipped with Verizon Airfone in every row of seats. Since Verizon ended this service, the airline has deactivated the service and as of 2007, has removed the phones or has covered them in all aircraft. Overnight on March 4, 2007,

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