'Miracle on Hudson' Plane Criss-Crossing Jersey On Way To New Home

The flight dubbed 'The Miracle on the Hudson' for the efforts of Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger to safely land a crippled Airbus in the Hudson River began a week-long, circuitous journey Saturday to Charlotte, N.C., where it will be put on display at the Carolinas Aviation Museum.

“For us it’s just fantastic,” Carolinas Aviation Museum President Shawn Dorsch said Saturday near the Rutgers New Brunswick campus, where the plane is spending the night. Dorsch is accompanying the plane on its 700-plus mile journey from a warehouse in Harrison, where it’s been for 18 months.

“The 1549 represents the highest level of human achievement, technologically and in heroism,” he said. “The 1549 is a real Charlotte story because not only is North Carolina the birthplace of aviation, but the flight was destined for Charlotte, the majority of the survivors live there, the plane is based there, crew is based there, and it’s the hub in the United Airways network.”

Dorsch said the response from people along the route has been incredible.

“It’s impressive how much of the country has been responding to this,” he said. “We’ve had towns and communities along the way begging for us to stop. We have one community in West Virginia calling us everyday. They know the route goes through their town and they’re just trying to get us to pull over and stop for a little bit.”

Dorsch said his wasn’t the only museum vying for the Airbus A-230-430.

“We were competing with the Smithsonian and the Intrepid for this aircraft and both of those institutions are significantly larger and more well resourced than we are,” he said. “For us to prevail and pull it off over those guys is a real testament to the commitment of the team."

As the plane traverses down the east coast, onlookers may spot what appear to be advertisements adorning the sides of the plane. Among them are defense contractor BAE Systems, residential and commercial contractor Restore Core, Chartis Insurance, and aerospace providers Goodrich and Thales.

The companies are sponsors who either supported the museum financially or are helping with engineering, tools and parts, Dorsch said.

“We’re doing a variety of things making this all happen," he said.

Shortly after the plane arrives at its Charlotte home there will be a gathering of over 300 people, with Sullenberger as the keynote speaker and joined by the crew and many of the survivors of the harrowing Jan. 2009 flight.

The plane was forced to take backroads out of New Jersey because it could not fit through Turnpike toll plazas. Once out of New Jersey, the convoy expects a much smoother ride.

US Airways Flight 1549 left from LaGuardia Airport on Jan. 15, 2009 at 3:25 p.m. and was headed to Charlotte when it was disabled by a flock of geese. Sullenberger gained international acclaim for calmly setting the plane down in the river without any loss of life.

The company transporting the plane, J Supor & Sons, is streaming the location of the plane via a GPS feed. The journey is expected to take about a week. Additionally, the Carolinas Aviation Museum has been Tweeting details of the journey and has a wealth of background information on its Facebook Page.