Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger spent a lifetime training his mind to stay clear when lives depended on it. At 75, the retired airline captain and aviation safety advocate has revealed that he has early-stage Alzheimer's disease.
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.
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.
My doctor, Dr. Gil Rabinovici with UCSF Medical Center, has opened my eyes to the prevalence of Alzheimer’s. This disease, he has told me, spares no age group and impacts millions of people around the world. It is the unwanted visitor at the door.
Like millions of families that are impacted by this disease, we debated next steps. I have spent my life in service, in the U.S. Air Force, as a commercial airline pilot, an accident investigator, as the U.S. Ambassador to ICAO. I have advocated for the safety of the traveling public for decades. And of course after the landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, I used the greater voice afforded to me by The Miracle on the Hudson to further aviation safety by speaking out on the many issues facing the industry. I was proud to work with many colleagues, fighting for increased pilot training, more pilot rest, in favor of the two-pilot rule, on increased technology issues, and more.
So this new phase of my life has challenged what it means to be of service. And the answer is to speak up. It is my hope that by sharing this, other families living in the shadows with this disease will feel they too can step forward.
A name may not come easily; he may repeat a recent story, and sleep has become harder.
The man who helped save all 155 people aboard US Airways Flight 1549 now faces a diagnosis no amount of skill or preparation can fully control.
His words landed hard here at home. My much, much better half is a psychologist who evaluates people with memory problems. For over 40 years, she's tested their thinking, judgment, recall, and ability to manage daily life.
She also helps families understand what may be coming and make tough choices while their loved one can still take part.
She protects every patient's privacy, but the weight follows her home. Families arrive frightened by missed appointments, repeated questions, unpaid bills, personality changes, or a familiar road that suddenly feels unfamiliar. Some hope the concern is stress, medication, poor sleep, or normal aging.
Others already know; they need someone trained to say what the family has been afraid to speak about.
Sully's announcement carries weight because he didn't hide behind a polished public statement, describing the small losses that often arrive before outsiders see a crisis.
He also wrote about his wife, Lorrie, their daughters, and their granddaughter. Alzheimer's enters one person's medical chart, but the diagnosis spreads into every family conversation about driving, money, work, safety, care, and time.
More than 7.4 million Americans aged 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's in 2026. Nearly 13 million family members and friends provide unpaid dementia care.
Those numbers are enormous, but families don't experience Alzheimer's as a statistic; they live it through a mother who asks the same question six times, a husband who can't follow the checkbook, or a father who grows suspicious of the people trying to protect him.
Early evaluation can give families something precious: time. Doctors may use interviews, memory and reasoning tests, medical workups, brain scans, and tests for Alzheimer's-related proteins. From the National Institute of Aging:
Doctors use several methods and tools to help determine if a person with thinking or memory problems has Alzheimer’s disease. To diagnose Alzheimer’s, doctors may:
- Ask the person experiencing symptoms, as well as a family member or friend, questions about overall health, use of prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diet, past medical problems, ability to carry out daily activities, and changes in behavior and personality.
- Conduct tests of memory, problem solving, attention, counting, and language.
- Order blood, urine, and other standard medical tests that can help identify other possible causes of the problem.
- Administer a psychiatric evaluation to determine if depression or another mental health condition is causing or contributing to a person's symptoms.
- Collect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) via a spinal tap and measure the levels of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
- Perform brain scans, such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or positron emission tomography (PET), to support an Alzheimer’s diagnosis or rule out other possible causes for symptoms.
Doctors may want to repeat these tests to help best determine how the person’s memory and other cognitive functions are changing over time. The tests can also help diagnose other causes of memory problems, such as stroke, tumor, Parkinson’s disease, sleep disturbances, side effects of medication, an infection, or another type of dementia. Some of these conditions may be treatable and possibly reversible.
A diagnosis can help people consider treatment, handle legal and financial plans, address safety concerns, discuss future living arrangements, and build support before a crisis forces every choice.
Sullenberger has spent decades speaking about safety, preparation, and service. He served in the Air Force, flew commercially for 30 years, investigated accidents, promoted aviation reform, and served as U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization in 2022.
He now says speaking openly about Alzheimer's is another form of service.
He's right.
Shame and denial steal time families can't recover; seeking an evaluation doesn't surrender hope because it gives a person a chance to remain part of the decisions that will shape the years ahead.
Sully once became a national figure because he stayed present during an unthinkable emergency. Alzheimer's demands another kind of courage from him and his family. From his statement:
And about hope – so many people told us after Flight 1549, that the outcome gave them hope. Lorrie, my incredible partner of 37 years, says we can all use a little of that hope right now.
Though it may impact my memory of the past, this diagnosis will not prevent me from looking forward to and appreciating our future. I will navigate this chapter with my wonderful family by my side.
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. 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.
By sharing the first forgotten names and repeated stories, he has reminded millions of families that they aren't facing the uncertainty alone.
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