‘Miracle on the Hudson’ pilot Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger has Alzheimer’s

The heroic pilot who safely ditched a stricken airliner in New York City’s Hudson River in 2009 has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger III, 75, shared the update on his personal website, writing that he was recently diagnosed and it is at an early stage.

“For now, this means a name may not come easily to me, I forget a story I have recently told, or I don’t sleep as well, but I am in the beginning of this long journey,” he wrote.

The former US Air Force fighter pilot from California said this new phase of life “has challenged what it means to be of service” and that he has found “the answer is to speak up” about the disease.