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Hudson Airbus Journeys to Charlotte

'Miracle' airplane heads to final destination two years after it was pulled from the Hudson.

The Airbus A320 that Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger famously ditched in the Hudson River is finally making the remainder of its journey to Charlotte, NC, 2 ½ years after the airplane originally took off for the destination.

This time around the US Airways jetliner, which has been housed in a New Jersey warehouse since it was pulled from the river in January 2009, is taking to the roads as part of a large, slow-moving caravan.

Strapped to a specially designed trailer, the 120-foot fuselage of the Airbus is traveling south along the East Coast, drawing crowds and scores of attention as it heads toward the Carolinas Aviation Museum, which purchased the airplane earlier this year.

Escorted by more than 30 trucks, the fuselage of Flight 1549 is at times moving no faster than 10 miles per hour, allowing viewers to catch a solid glimpse of the airplane as it makes its way to North Carolina. The airplane left New Jersey this weekend and is not expected to arrive in Charlotte until Friday. Viewers can track the airplane’s progress on Twitter at @CarolinAirMusem.

The airplane will be on permanent exhibit at the Carolinas Aviation Museum after it is reassembled, a process that a museum spokesperson said will likely take months.

Sully and other crew members will be on hand Saturday at the museum for a sold-out event commemorating the famous flight. Sully became a household name after the event dubbed the “Miracle on the Hudson,” in which he safely landed the A320 carrying 155 people after losing power in both engines. He has since retired from the airlines and is now working as an aviation safety analyst.

Check out a video reconstruction of Flight 1549’s crash landing by Exosphere3D below.

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