The 2016 biographical film about pilot Chesley Sullenberger starring Tom Hanks is Sully.
Directed by Clint Eastwood, Sully dramatizes the emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on New York’s Hudson River. On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles lost engine power after the Airbus A320 struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. With no safe runway available, they landed on the river.
All 155 people aboard survived, and nearby ferries helped evacuate passengers from the partially submerged aircraft. The film is based on Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow’s autobiography Highest Duty. Tom Hanks plays Sullenberger, while Aaron Eckhart portrays Skiles.
The movie focuses not only on the landing but also on the investigation that followed. It fictionalizes some aspects of the National Transportation Safety Board inquiry, a detail that prompted criticism from investigators. Captain Phillips and United 93 also portray aviation emergencies, but neither is the Sullenberger biopic.