Pilot recalls river landing

NEW YORK -- In his first public comments about what it was like to safely land a passenger jet in the Hudson River, US Airways pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger described the ordeal as "surreal" and said the silence in the cockpit after both engines lost power was "shocking."

In an interview with ESPN the night before the Super Bowl -- where he and the crew were given a standing ovation -- Sullenberger said that while he was guiding the plane to a splash landing he felt "calm on the outside, turmoil on the inside."

The California pilot has been called a hero for safely landing the Airbus 320, which lost power in both engines after striking a flock of birds shortly after taking off from New York's LaGuardia Airport. All 150 passengers and crew members were rescued safely.

Asked what it was like when he realized both engines were out, Sullenberger called it "shocking."

"It was very quiet as we worked, my co-pilot and I. We were a team. But to have zero thrust coming out of those engines was shocking -- the silence," he said.

The pilot and his wife, Lori Sullenberger, are to appear in an interview to be broadcast Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes."