The pilot of US Airways Flight 1549, who landed the Airbus jet on the Hudson River Thursday, saving the 155 people on board, is a former Air Force fighter pilot and graduate of the Air Force Academy. According to a profile on the Website for the safety consulting firm he founded, Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger flew F-4s during seven years on active duty, from 1973 to 1980, when he started with US Airways. Read more in an Associated Press report.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.