NBAA Welcomes Senate Confirmation of Sullenberger as ICAO Ambassador

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) applauds the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of aviation champion Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III to serve as U.S. ambassador to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), noting the retired airline captain’s longtime support of business aviation.

The ICAO Council is a permanent body composed of 36 member states, carrying out executive functions of the ICAO Assembly, administering air transport, air navigation, technical cooperation and other functions.

At its 2017 convention, NBAA recognized Sullenberger with its American Spirit Award. He also served as a keynote speaker at the association’s 2015 convention, detailing for attendees his “Miracle on the Hudson” water landing of a US Airways Airbus 320-200 in New York City’s Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009, after multiple bird strikes disabled both engines. Famously, Sullenberger, first officer Jeffrey Skiles, and the cabin crew ensured the survival of all 155 passengers and crew.

With over 20,000 flight hours, Sullenberger advanced safety as a mentor pilot and accident investigator long before the 2009 incident. A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, he served as a fighter pilot for the U.S. Air Force from 1975 to 1980. He advanced to become a flight leader and a training officer, attaining the rank of captain.