Charlotte Museum Wants 1549 Wreckage

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The interim mayor of Charlotte, N.C., is leading the effort to raise $250,000 needed to help US Airways Flight 1549 reach its final destination. The Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte recently announced that the Airbus A320 famously ditched in the Hudson River by pilots Chesley Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles two years ago would be put on display in its crash-damaged state as a tribute to the advances in aircraft technology that helped make the fatality-free landing possible. But while the deal has been made with Chartis, the current owner of the salvage, actually getting the airliner’s remains from a New Jersey warehouse to Charlotte will be up to the generosity of Charlotte’s citizens and whomever else might want to kick in. “We are in tough economic times right now,” Interim Mayor Patrick Cannon told WIS TV. “And so all you can do is make the ask and that’s what we’ll do.”

The museum plans to set up the aircraft intact and in exactly the state it was in (minus the personal effects of those on board) in a display that mimics the hull floating semi-submerged on the river. “When they look down at their feet,” Cannon said. “They are actually looking at it as if they are on the Hudson River. They will have that same general feel. They will have that illusion.” Sullenberger has donated the uniform he was wearing that day to the exhibit. Donations to the transportation fund can be made directly to the Carolinas Aviation Museum at 704-906-8277 or can be mailed to the museum at 4672 First Flight Drive, Charlotte, N.C., 28208.

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