Chesley Sullenberger

Chesley Sullenberger, 57, the pilot of the plane that crashed into the Hudson River yesterday, accomplished something never done in over 50 years of commercial aviation. When he brought his Airbus 320 to an as-perfect-as-possible landing, it was the first ever non-fatal emergency ditching for a passenger jetliner. Often, one of the wingtips will graze the water and cause the plane to cartwheel. So much went right, the plane didn't sink in the hundred foot deep Hudson, the ferries were there in seconds - but it was Sullenberger's unprecedented ditching ability that truly saved the day. The Smoking Gun has the man's amazing resume.