‘Sully’ Steps Down from ICAO Role

Retired US Airways captain C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger held the ambassador position for only 6 months.

Friday, June 24, 2022 at 02:14 PM ET

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In 2009, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger III landed a US Airways Airbus 320-200 in the Hudson River with 155 passengers and crew on board. [Courtesy: NASA]

Key Takeaways:

C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger has resigned from his post as the U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
He is stepping down on July 1, 2022, after serving only six months, having been confirmed in December 2021.
Sullenberger did not provide a reason for his early departure from the international role.
He is widely recognized for safely landing US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River and for his outspoken commentary on aviation topics.

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In an unexpected development on the global aerospace stage, C.B. “Sully” Sullenberger has stepped down from his position as the U.S. ambassador to ICAO (the International Civil Aviation Organization) after serving only 6 months, according to a Reuters report.

The retired US Airways captain announced on Thursday that he would depart the organization on July 1. He’d been confirmed to the post in December 2021, in Montreal.

In a statement to Reuters, Sullenberger indicated that he was “’relinquishing my role,’” and that it “was not an easy decision but did not offer a reason for his departure after just over six months.”

Sullenberger is well known in aviation circles not only for his role in safely landing US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320, on January 15, 2009, on the Hudson River in New York after departure from LaGuardia Airport (KLGA), but for his outspoken commentary on topics from the lure of an airline career to the fate of the Boeing 737 Max.