Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger has urged Americans to seek early testing for Alzheimer’s in his first television interview since revealing his own diagnosis.
Sully, 75, sat down with Good Morning America alongside his wife Lorrie for an interview scheduled to air Wednesday, September 23. The famed pilot, known worldwide for the 2009 “Miracle on the Hudson” emergency landing, was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s in August 2025 and publicly announced the news in July.
“I think we began to notice that I was changing in the few years before that,” Sully said in a preview clip released ahead of the broadcast.
Lorrie Sullenberger emphasized that their decision to speak out now was deliberate, aiming to counter misconceptions about how the disease first appears. “That’s part of why we wanted to do the interview today because a lot of what I think people see in the news are late stage Alzheimer’s symptoms,” she explained. “In the very beginning, they are so subtle. It’s what’s unusual for your person.”
Sully then pressed the importance of acting on early warning signs without delay. “Early diagnosis is so critically important,” he stated. “If you have doubts, get tested because the sooner you act, the more options there are, the better the outcome is likely to be.”
The pilot’s public disclosure came through a statement posted to his website in July, where he framed the diagnosis as the start of a long journey rather than an endpoint. “Lorrie and I often said we won the baby lottery with our two daughters. And we have learned what people say is actually true: that grandchildren are a game changer. Our granddaughter gives a whole new meaning to life,” he wrote.
“With that said, I recently found out I have 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.”
Sully also explained his motivation for going public, expressing hope that other families might feel less isolated. He hopes that “other families living in the shadows with this disease will feel they too can step forward.”
The retired captain connected his current challenge to the teamwork that defined his most famous moment. “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 on his website.
“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.”
On January 15, 2009, Sully was at the controls of US Airways Flight 1549 when a bird strike disabled both engines shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport. With no power to reach any runway, he made the split-second decision to land the Airbus A320 on the Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew survived, and the successful water evacuation became known as the “Miracle on the Hudson.” The dramatic rescue was later dramatized in the 2016 Clint Eastwood film “Sully,” with Tom Hanks portraying the pilot.
In his July statement, Sully made clear he intends to face his diagnosis with the same forward-looking resolve. “Though it may impact my memory of the past, this diagnosis will not prevent me from looking forward to and appreciating our future,” he wrote. “I will navigate this chapter with my wonderful family by my side.”
The full Good Morning America interview is scheduled to air Wednesday.