A U.S. commercial airline pilot called a national hero for successfully landing a disabled jet in New York’s Hudson last week on Saturday made his first public comments since the incident.

We were simply doing the jobs we were trained to do, said shortly Pilot Chesley Sullenberger, whose safe emergency maneuvers saved 155 passengers and the crew of the plane.

The pilot of the US Airways flight 1549 was received with a special welcome in his neighborhood in Danville, Calif., where he and his wife gave a speech to around 3,000 people on Saturday.

Circumstances determined that it was this experienced crew that was scheduled to fly on that particular flight on that particular day, the pilot said at the welcoming.

The airplane, US airways 1549 had to land as an emergency in Jan 15 in the Hudson River in New York City after both of the engines were broken down by an encounter with a flock of birds, shortly after it departed from La Guardia airport.

California U.S.