HARRISON, N.J. — To stand inside the cabin of the US Airways jet that crash-landed on the Hudson River is to imagine, even briefly, the terror that must have overtaken the 155 people aboard as the plane descended onto the icy water.
The plane’s interior is largely undisturbed from the Jan. 15, 2009, landing but is littered with reminders — and a coating of dried mud. A stethoscope from a first-aid kit lies on the floor in one row, while unused life jackets wrapped in plastic sit on seats. Many seat cushions are gone, grabbed by passengers as they exited onto a wing.
The world will be able to relive the triumph of what has been dubbed “The Miracle on the Hudson” when the Airbus A320 is shipped this spring from a northern New Jersey warehouse to Charlotte, N.C., for an exhibit at the Carolinas Aviation Museum.
The plane’s wings are expected to be moved within the next few weeks. The 120-foot fuselage will be trucked down around mid-June, said Stephen Ryan, whose Australia-based company, FRD, is consulting on the museum project.
That trip is sure to create a stir between New Jersey and North Carolina, much as it did when the plane was moved from the Hudson to the warehouse two years ago.
“We’re still working out the route,” Ryan said Saturday. “There are a lot of factors to be considered.”
The museum exhibit is scheduled to open in January and will focus on the technology that helped the plane land safely as well as the heroics of captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.
Flight 1549 had taken off from LaGuardia Airport when birds struck both engines, shutting them down. Sullenberger considered trying to land at a nearby airport but calculated that he wouldn’t be able to make it that far. The Hudson was the only alternative. All aboard survived.
