A hero’s welcome awaited Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, when he reached his hometown of Danville, California!

The pilot had safely landed a jetliner in the Hudson River in New York on January 15, thereby saving the lives of all the 155 passengers on board. Sullenberger, a former US Air Force pilot and air safety consultant, made sure that all passengers and crew were safe, before he himself left the ditched airliner.

The New York Governor David Paterson described the entire incident as “a miracle on the Hudson.”

With a marching band in tow, the masses went berserk on Saturday to honor Sullenberger with cheers, as they held signs and waved American flags. The pilot was honored by the officials who presented him with a medal, at a ceremony for the Sullenberger family, on the San Francisco suburb’s town green. The 57-year-old pilot has also been made an honorary Danville police officer.

Expressing gratitude for the outpouring of support ever since the emergency landing, Sullenberger, the celebrated captain of Flight 1549, said the credit goes to his crew and added that whatever they all did was a part of their jobs.

Addressing the 3,000-plus crowd, Sullenberger said: “Circumstance determined that it was this experienced crew that was scheduled to fly that particular flight on that particular day. But I know I can speak for the entire crew when I tell you we were simply doing the job we were trained to do.”