US Airways to Auction 'Miracle on Hudson' Plane

Remember the astonishing scenes of a US Airways plane floating in the Hudson in New York City? It doesn't seem too long ago, but it's hard to believe a year has passed to the miraculous incident. It could have ended tragically, but when US Airways flight 1549 to Charlotte, N.C. developed a technical snag, Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III decided to make an emergency landing in the frigid river waters. All 155 passengers were safely evacuated and Sullenberger was hailed as a hero for safely gliding the plane into the Hudson after a double engine failure.

Now, a year on, the airline company has decided to put up the Airbus A320-214 for auction and cash in from the publicity that the incident had received a year ago. The A320 aircraft is currently lying at a salvage yard in Kearny, New Jersey. The wings have been separated from the body of the aircraft, but they will be included in the auction. The bid site for the aircraft clearly states "severe water damage throughout the airframe" and "impact damage to underside of aircraft." The engines, for obvious reasons, have been excluded from the auction.

The auction, which will be managed by Dan Akers of Chartis Insurance, has been set a deadline of March 27 at 4:30 p.m. ET and has been made open to the public. Chartis is a subsidiary of the larger American International Group Inc. and also insures US Airways. A spokeswoman for Chartis, Marie Ali, was quoted as saying "the plane is being auctioned as salvage". But she declined to provide any more details about the auction. The US Airways has refused to return calls for any comment or disclosure about the auction.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Sullenberger, the plane's captain, said the captain is aware the plane is at a salvage yard. Soon, after the incident Sullenberger said "In hindsight, I think something remarkable did happen that day". Indeed, it was! And so is the decision to auction the aircraft.