Just short of 14 months since piloting one of the most extraordinary landings in aviation history, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenburger hung up his wings yesterday and retired from US Airways.

Capt. Sullenburger, 59, joined US Airways in 1980 and became a member of  the airline’s flight operations safety management team last September.

Captain Sullenberger, the pilot in command during the world-renowned “ditching” of US Airways Flight 1549, officially retired at a private ceremony at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. He flew his last flight with First Officer Jeff Skiles, his copilot during the skillful landing in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009.

Sully was among the three finalists of Beliefnet’s Most Inspiring Person of 2009.  The event that made him an international hero, widely known as “Miracle on the Hudson,” continues to awe and inspire people, and Sully is now one of the countrie’s most sought after speakers.

Asked why he believes the “Miracle on the Hudson” and his work that day has touched people so, he said, “It gave people hope.”

Read more about Captain Sully and the Flight 1549 “Miracle on the Hudson” on Beliefnet.

Captain Sully, Finalist, Most Inspiring Person of 2009.

21 Lessons from the Miracle on the Hudson

The Plane Crash that Gave Us Hope

Thanks to Renita Williams for research on this story.