Carolinas Aviation Museum To Be Renamed In Honor Of Captain “Sully” Ahead Of 13-Year Anniversary Of “Miracle On The Hudson”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 13 years after the “Miracle on the Hudson,” Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte is being renamed to honor Captain “Sully” Sullenberger.

Captain Sullenberger heroically landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River and saved all lives on board back in 2009, after a birdstrike took the airliner heading to Charlotte down.

The museum, temporarily closed, is set to reopen in 2023 with a permanent exhibit honoring Captain Sully and the crew on Flight 1549.

Red Ventures (RV) CEO and crash survivor Ric Elias is personally making a $1 million dollar donation to the museum’s reopening, along with a $500,000 donation from Lonely Planet, an RV brand.

Elias says ““I am forever indebted to Captain Sully and the crew of US Airways Flight 1549 for my second chance at life, and, for 13 years, I have been determined to find a way to honor them.”

Adding, “Heroes are made long before the day they are called to action. This museum will serve as an enduring tribute to the preparation, courage and dedication of the captain and the entire crew.”

Tomorrow will mark 13 years since @CaptSully landed our #Flight1549 plane on the Hudson River.

In honor of the anniversary I want to share more of what I learned from this “ultimate gift.”

These are the lessons that have helped me live with purpose, on purpose. (a thread)

— Ric Elias (@RicElias) January 14, 2022

Officials say this donation brings funding for CAM’s Lift-Off Campaign to over $11 million, nearly halfway to its goal of $25 million.

The Museum will formally announce its official new name later in 2022.

Visit CarolinasAviation.org for more information.