A mustache does a hero make

The e-mailed item was not from a witness, but someone who’d learned of it: Hudson River aircraft lander Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was flying from Oakland to Las Vegas on Southwest Airlines recently, for his son’s bachelor party, when passengers realized there was a hero in their midst. A chant went up: "Sully! Sully!"

Sullenberger’s rep, Alex Clemens of Barbary Coast Consulting in San Francisco, said Sully "tries to keep a low profile when he travels, but the events of Jan. 15, 2009, have led many people to recognize him. On airplanes and airports, he is frequently recognized and congratulated and thanked, and on more than one occasion on an airplane he has received a round of applause."

Then he paused for a moment. Las Vegas? Clemens, who books Sullenberger’s trips, says he has booked none to Las Vegas. Perhaps it was for family business, I said, mentioning the bachelor party. Sully has two daughters, said Clemens.

"There are other people who look like Sully," said Clemens. "It’s nice. If you’re a distinguished-looking gentleman with a silver mustache, and you’re tall and skinny and people accidentally confuse you with somebody, it’s lovely to receive the adulation of the crowd."