2026年7月14日 / 美国东部时间下午1:42 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
2009年因成功将客机迫降哈德逊河而闻名的切斯利·“萨利”·萨伦伯格机长周二宣布，他已被诊断出患有阿尔茨海默病。
“目前处于早期阶段。这意味着我可能难以想起某些名字，会忘记自己刚讲过的故事，或是睡眠质量下降，但我正处在这段漫长旅程的开端，”他在社交媒体的帖子中写道。他的声明最先分享给了《人物》杂志。
阿尔茨海默病是一种会逐渐引发记忆及其他认知功能障碍的脑部疾病，是痴呆症最常见的诱因，目前尚无治愈方法。
2009年1月15日，萨伦伯格凭借敏捷的思维挽救了全美航空1549号航班上的155人，成为国民英雄。这架飞机从纽约拉瓜迪亚机场起飞后不久，因遭遇鸟撞导致两台发动机全部失效。根据座舱语音记录仪转录内容，萨伦伯格和机组人员在确认无法在机场迫降后，于不到四分钟的时间内完成了哈德逊河紧急水上迫降。随后所有乘客和机组人员都从飞机上撤离并被救援人员救起。
此次迫降后来被称为“哈德逊河奇迹”，并被改编为2016年电影《萨利机长》。
萨伦伯格后来多年担任哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的航空安全特邀专家，同时也是航空安全倡导者。
这位退休飞行员表示，确诊后他才了解到阿尔茨海默病的流行程度。根据阿尔茨海默病协会的数据，目前有超过700万美国人患有阿尔茨海默病。
萨伦伯格表示，他希望通过公开自己的诊断结果，鼓励其他患者也敢于发声。
“多年来，当人们问及1549号航班成功迫降的经历时，我总会说‘勇气是会传染的’，在那一天，这份勇气让所有人团结起来，成功将所有人撤离飞机。”他写道，“如今，我们需要这份勇气来对抗这种疾病。我现在加入了一个由许多像你们一样的人组成的更大群体，我们将携手并肩，展现勇气。”
Capt. “Sully” Sullenberger, “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot, shares Alzheimer’s diagnosis
July 14, 2026 / 1:42 PM EDT / CBS News
Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, who famously landed a passenger jet on the Hudson River in 2009, shared Tuesday he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
“It is 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 in a post on social media. His statement was first shared with People magazine.
Alzheimer’s is a brain condition that gradually causes problems with memory and other skills. It is the most common cause of dementia. There is no cure.
Sullenberger became a national hero when his quick thinking saved 155 people on board US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15, 2009. Shortly after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, both engines of the plane started to fail due to a bird strike. In less than four minutes, Sullenberger and his crew executed an emergency water landing in the Hudson River, after determining landing at an airport wasn’t feasible, according to a cockpit voice recorder transcript. All passengers and crew members were then evacuated from the plane and rescued by first responders.
The landing would become known as the “Miracle on the Hudson” and was portrayed in the 2016 film titled “Sully.”
Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, with a photo of the “Miracle on the Hudson” landing, at the premiere of “Brace for Impact” on Jan. 5, 2010 in New York City. Theo Wargo/WireImage/Getty Images
Sullenberger, who went on to serve for years as an on-air expert for CBS News, is an advocate for aviation safety.
Since his diagnosis, the retired pilot said he has learned how prevalent Alzheimer’s is. More than 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Sullenberger said he hopes by sharing his diagnosis, others with the disease will also speak up.
“Over the years, when people would ask about the successful outcome of Flight 1549, I would say that ‘courage can be contagious,’ and on that day it helped everyone band together to get everyone off that airplane successfully,” he wrote. “Now we need that courage to battle this disease. I am now part of a larger community with many of you, and we will be courageous together.”
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