Whatever happened to the plane in the Hudson?

In the past two months it has been hard to miss any kind of media coverage dealing with the US Airways plane that crashed into the Hudson River. But for those of you that don’t know, I’ll fill you in on the gritty details.

On January 15, US Airways flight 1549 took off from LaGuardia Airport and struck birds thirty seconds after departure. The pilot immediately radioed back to the airport requesting to land, and then lost contact. Passengers claim that after hearing loud bangs they saw flames shooting from under the wings of the plane, and then the pilot announced that it was time to prepare for a hard impact. The plane quickly dropped about 100 feet, lost power to both engines, and then was glided safely into the 40 degree Hudson river by pilot Chesley Sullenberger.

To prevent the plane from sinking, Sullenberger activated the plane’s ditching switch. This switch closes openings and valves under the plane creating a “float line” to temporarily keep the plane above the water.

Passengers were then quickly shuffled out of the plane onto the wings. Many have reported that male flyers took responsibility for getting the women and children to safety. Crew members also have

A firefighter looks on as US Airways flight 1549 floats in the Hudson.

mentioned that pilot Sullenberger walked the length of the plane twice to make sure all had evacuated. Of the 148 passengers and six crew members there were no fatalities and only minor injuries. Ferry boats and water taxis rushed to the plane as quickly as possible from both the New Jersey and New York City sides of the river to rescue travelers. All of the people that were on the plane are receiving 5000$ checks to cover lost luggage and belongings.

But many have been left wondering, whatever happened to the plane?

When the plane landed in the river both engines detached and sunk to the bottom. The plane was saved for investigation and was towed down river and tied up around Battery Park City. I can not find much else on the whereabouts of the plane, but did receive an email of photos that have been circulating the web.

The following photos have been seen on numerous websites and could only be US Airways flight 1549, being towed through East Rutherford, New Jersey.