Opinion We saved 155 lives on the Hudson. Now let’s vote for leaders who’ll protect us all.

By Chesley B. 'Sully' Sullenberger III

October 29, 2018 at 6:52 p.m. EDT

Voters line up to vote at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Grand Rapids, Mich, on Nov. 8, 2016. (Cory Morse/AP)

Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger is a safety expert, author and speaker on leadership and culture.

Nearly 10 years ago, I led 154 people to safety as the captain of US Airways Flight 1549, which suffered bird strikes, lost thrust in the engines and was forced to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River. Some called it “the Miracle on the Hudson.” But it was not a miracle. It was, in microcosm, an example of what is needed in emergencies — including the current national crisis — and what is possible when we serve a cause greater than ourselves.