When Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger heroically landed troubled US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River four years ago, he not only saved passengers’ lives but also created the opportunity for new lives to begin.
In the four years since the extraordinary “Miracle on the Hudson,” 10 babies have been born to passengers on that fateful flight.
Tuesday, in a heartwarming reunion on Katie Couric’s talk show, “Katie,” Sullenberger, who retired from flying in 2010, got the opportunity to meet five of those kids.
“'These are special, special kids,” Sullenberger, who has formed an intense bond with many of the passengers, said on the show. “Kids that maybe wouldn't have been born otherwise. It makes it all very real.
“It’s just another great reminder of how much good happened that day,” he said.
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Karin Rooney, left, and her boyfriend were passengers on Flight 1549. They married shortly after the crash and now have a daughter, Elena, right, who is eight months old.
Karin Rooney was on the Charlotte, N.C.-bound plane with her then-boyfriend. The two were having relationship problems, but the shaking experience ended up bringing them closer together.
“We had come to New York for vacation,” she recalled. “And when the plane crashed, I just knew on the wing that he was who I wanted to be with.”
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FLASHBACK: Four years ago these US Airways passengers stared death in the face and lived.
The two married the next year, and one miracle begot another when the couple had their first child, Elena, who is now 8 months old and appeared on the show.
Another child making an appearance was named after the mighty river the plane landed on.
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Five of the 10 children born to passengers of Flight 1549 since "Miracle on the Hudson," appeared on "Katie" Tuesday.
One-year-old Hudson Norton, who attended the taping with dad Don, a passenger, also has the date of the miracle for a birthday.
“We liked the name anyway,” Don Norton told Couric. “And we just said we know he was gonna be born around the day (of the accident), and … ‘Hudson’ was just it.”
Sullenberger also cheerily greeted 17-month-old Cecilia Schrift, whose father was on Flight 1549 and 11-month-old Connor Gray, whose mother was on the plane.
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After surviving the crash-landing, Don Norton, left, named his son, right, Hudson, who celebrated his first birthday Tuesday.
The anniversary of the crash landing was not all smiles, however.
In a serious tone, Sullenberger said that after the landing, his life changed “instantly and completely and forever.”
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Capt. "Sully" Sullenberger, center, holds little Hudson Norton, whose father was a passenger on Flight 1549.
“‘Surreal’ was the word that we all used to describe it, to explain not only the event itself but all this incredible, immediate intense worldwide attention in the aftermath,” the awed Sullenberger said.
A former fighter pilot, Sullenberger began flying for US Airways in 1980. Flight 1549 had just departed New York’s LaGuardia Airport in Queens when the jet hit a flock of geese.
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17-month-old Cecilia, right, with her father, Douglas, who was a passenger on Flight 1549.
The power went out quickly, and the calm Sullenberger took charge of the situation, managing somehow to steer the plane into a perfect water landing and get everybody off safely.
The captain talked at length about how traumatic the experience was and how long it took to get over.
“I remember it vividly. It took months for me to be able to process the event itself and then move on,” he said, adding that “even though we had a great outcome, it was incredibly intense and traumatic.”
“It took many months for me to begin to sleep again normally -- for me to quiet my mind,” said Sullenberger, who noted that he hasn’t had any nightmares about the crash for years.
“The situation wasn’t about choosing. It was thrust upon us,” he added. “I was very happy that everyone involved did their jobs extraordinarily well.”
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