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US Airways pilot big on Facebook

The pilot who successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River earlier this week is garnering a cult-like following on the social network.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn

Want some big exposure on Facebook? Just pull off a water landing in a fully loaded passenger jet.

For Chesley B. Sullenberger, who successfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson river Thursday, that happening appeared to have given him a cult-like following on the popular social network.

So far users have created nearly a dozen fan pages for Sullenberger, the most active of which is pulling in more than 100 new fans a minute and totals more than 51,000 members at the time of this posting. While it's nowhere near the millions attained by some celebrities and political figureheads like President-Elect Barack Obama, it's only been a day since the historic landing.

Pilot Chesley B. Sullenberger has a fan page on Facebook that's pulling in more than 100 new fans a minute. CNET Networks

To put things in perspective, Sullenberger may end up being the most popular pilot on Facebook. Amelia Earhart who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, has less than 500 fans, while sound barrier-busting Chuck Yeager has close to 1,600.