Hero pilot's hat to benefit two schools

DANVILLE, Calif., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot whose forced landing in the Hudson River made him a hero, is selling a hat to benefit California schools.

The person who makes the winning bid on eBay will get the hat, autographed by Sullenberger, a plastic box to protect it and a handwritten note from the pilot and his wife, Lorrie, thanking the buyer for making a contribution to education, the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times reported. Proceeds from the sale are going to the San Ramon high school where Sullenberger's daughters are students and to a sister school in East Oakland, across the Bay from San Francisco, Allie Herson of Barbary Coast Consulting said.

Herson said Sullenberg has owned the hat for a long time, although he was not wearing it, or any other, in January when he landed in the Hudson.

Sullenberger's plane lost engine power after a bird strike during takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York. Without time to reach LaGuardia or another airport, he brought the plane down in the river, and all passengers and crew were able to evacuate before it sank.

He has since written "Highest Duty: My Search For What Really Matters."