He's the new American hero,
the pilot of the US Airways jet
who flawlessly landed his plane in the Hudson River.
Chesley Sullenberger, known as Sully,
is being hailed the Hero of the Hudson
in front page headlines.
Tribute pages popped up overnight on Facebook
with thousands of messages of admiration.
President Bush also hailed his heroism.
We are very grateful that everyone
is off the airplane safely,
and that was really what my husband asked
to convey to everyone.
Of course, we are very proud of dad.
His wife Laurie's voice cracked
as she spoke of the drama.
She's a fitness expert on a San Francisco TV station,
and they have two young daughters.
My husband has said over the years,
that it's highly unlikely for any pilot
to ever have an incident in his career,
let alone something like this.
57-year old Sully's heroism
didn't end with bringing down the plane safely.
He was the last man off,
wading the aisles in waste-deep water
to make sure all passengers were off.
The pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane
in the river and then making sure that everybody got out.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
spoke in awe of his heroism.
I had a long conversation with the pilot.
He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off.
He tried to verify that there was nobody else onboard.
Sully was the right man
with the right stuff at the right moment.
He's a pilot's pilot and he loves the art of the airplane.
This is Sully as an Air Force Academy
cadet when he was 22.
He flew F-4 Phantom jets for seven years.
This captain did an incredible job.
He's a man whose hand I would like to shake some day.
This is how it looked from the pilot's
point of view.
Recreated for Inside Edition in a flight simulator.
He avoids Manhattan sky scrapers to land in the Hudson River
at an estimated 140 miles per hour.
Courage in the cockpit was matched
with compassion in Thursday's drama.
Several passengers suffered from hypothermia
in the freezing temperatures.
Survivor Barry Leonard told Good Morning, America
the pilot or copilot literally gave him
the shirt off his back.
I actually still have it this morning.
I'm not gonna give it up.
Oh what a difference a day makes.
Today, Emma Sophina is safe and thankful she's alive.
A professional singer from Australia,
Emma was on her way to Charlotte to visit friends
when the US Airways jet went down.
Next minute, bang and I thought we'd hit a building.
You just heard the pilot say "brace yourself for impact".
How do you brace yourself for impact
when you know your plane's about to crash.
Our cameras captured 23-year old Bill Zuhoski
being loaded into an ambulance moments after his rescue.
The impact hitting the water was just
the most tremendous impact you could imagine.
I guess my head slammed into it and I lost my glasses.
Still trembling from his ordeal,
Zuhoski remembers everything that happened
as freezing waters started flooding in.
For a second I just thought that
I was gonna die right there in a plane.
I was just gonna drown.
The water was coming up so fast in the back
I ripped all my clothes off thinking
I'd be lighter and I might have to swim.
I was completely soaking wet and in my underwear.
Rescuers covered Zuhoski with blankets
so he wouldn't freeze to death.
The fist pump says it all as passenger Ray Mandrell
realizes he has made it to safety.
That was in celebration.
Everybody made it out of the plane.
Mandrell was traveling with Renee Williams,
a music publicist from Florida.
She says she and other passengers held hands
in prayer when they realized the plane was going down.
The girl next to me, she saw me
and she just started shaking.
I grabbed her hand and I looked at her and I said,
"Don't worry. You're gonna be okay.
We've got angels protecting us."
Other survivors got emotional welcomes
from their families when they finally arrived in Charlotte.
Happy to be home.
9 month old Damien Sosa
and his 4 year old sister, Sophia,
appeared with their parents on the Today Show.
Mom, Tess, told how a total stranger
took hold of her son and held him tightly
until the moment of impact.
What would you like to say to him?
Thank you. Thank you and thank God.
Amazing stories of survival
from the Miracle on the Hudson.