Spotlight on Sully: Flight 1549 Pilot Gets Standing O

The crowd hearts Sully (Photograph by Jason DeCrow/AP)

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At last night's performance of the Tony-winning revival of South Pacific, audience members—and cast and crew— got a special treat: A glimpse of US Airways Flight 1549 pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who was attending the Lincoln Center production with his wife and two daughters. Sullenberger returned to NYC for the first time since his amazing landing of the Airbus A320 in the Hudson last month—with all passengers and crew surviving. During the curtain call, the show's star Kelli O'Hara said, "It could have been tragic, but it wasn't. It became a miracle. We've never been more honored than to perform for you, Captain."

The AP reports, "A spotlight was trained on Sullenberger in the audience, and the crowd stood, cheered and applauded. The pilot's wife, Lorrie Sullenberger, began wiping tears from her face. He hugged her, then turned back to the crowd and waved as the cheers grew still louder." Aw!! A man said, "It was quite exciting just to see this guy who saved so many lives," with his wife adding, "It's so nice to have a hero who's a real hero, instead of movie stars."

Tonight at 7 p.m., CBS will air the interview with Sullenberger and the Flight 1549 crew. Tomorrow morning, he'll appear on CBS's Early Show (the Early Show will be entirely dedicated to Flight 1549) and ABC's Good Morning America; later in the afternoon, he'll receive a key to the city from Mayor Bloomberg.