Miracle on the Hudson pilot Sully Sullenberger announces Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis

Capt. Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger smiles during a news conference at Charlotte/Douglas International airport in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Capt. Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III, best known for landing safely on the Hudson River after birds disabled both of the plane’s engines in 2009, has announced he has Alzheimer’s disease.

Sullenberger, 75, posted an update to his personal website on Tuesday that said he recently found out about the diagnosis, which is in an early stage.

“My doctor, Dr. Gil Rabinovici with UCSF Medical Center, has opened my eyes to the prevalence of Alzheimer’s,” Sullenberger said in the post. “This disease, he has told me, spares no age group and impacts millions of people around the world. It is the unwanted visitor at the door.”

Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disorder that leads to memory loss and other intellectual inabilities. The disease is the most common form of dementia. It is fatal and there is no cure, with patients experiencing severe brain damage.

Sullenberger devoted much of his career to aviation, as a commercial airline pilot, an accident investigator and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations’ civil aviation organization. He frequently advocates for aviation safety matters following his landing of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson, which was dramatized in the film “Sully,” staring Tom Hanks.

“Over the years, when people would ask about the successful outcome of Flight 1549, I would say that ‘courage can be contagious,’ and on that day it helped everyone band together to get everyone off that airplane successfully,” he said. “Now we need that courage to battle this disease. I am now part of a larger community with many of you, and we will be courageous together.”