My message going forward is that I want to remind everyone in the aviation industry - especially those who manage aviation companies and those who regulate aviation - that we owe it to our passengers to keep learning how to do it better. Chesley Sullenberger More Quotes by Chesley Sullenberger More Quotes From Chesley Sullenberger My father volunteered in early 1941, before Pearl Harbor, and became an officer in the U.S. Navy. As I was growing up, he taught me the responsibility of command: A leader is ultimately responsible for every aspect of the welfare of people under his or her care. That was a deeply felt obligation in his generation. Chesley Sullenberger me responsibility father people I took my first flying lesson in 1967, when I was 16. By October 1968, I had 70 hours in the air and got my pilot's license. Chesley Sullenberger pilot lesson first flying The economic tsunami has hit all airline employees. With the 2001 terror attacks, airline bankruptcies, pension terminations, loss of pay, changes in work rules - we're all working harder and longer than we used to. Chesley Sullenberger employees rules loss work I try to work out, time permitting, wherever I am. Chesley Sullenberger i-am try work time My wife Lorrie actually looked in the dictionary to see what the definition was of heroism because it had been used so much. She found at least one definition is someone who chooses to put themselves at risk to save another. Chesley Sullenberger someone see heroism wife It's an important job to be the public face of something that gives people hope, and I take that seriously. Chesley Sullenberger face job hope people I had never been so challenged in an airplane that I doubted the outcome. Chesley Sullenberger outcome been never airplane If you take one of the first flights out in the morning, typically the airplane and the crew have arrived the night before. When you're not waiting on an inbound flight, there are fewer delays. Chesley Sullenberger you waiting morning night