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My main questions are about what happened after US Airways flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River. I had this nagging question about how this large commercial jet (Airbus A320: 88,ooo lbs operating empty weight) could float so well, and for so long.

In addition, from the video footage that the main stream media was feeding us… the jet seemed to be amazingly stable, where both wings were evenly balanced so as to provide a dock like platform to many of the people on the plane. The plane did not seem to sway or rock.

Information I have found about flight 1549:

1. It ditched in the Hudson between 3:26 and 3:31 pm. Main part of the rescue operation ended at 4:20 pm. This means the plane floated at least 50 minutes.

2. The left engine (5,000 lbs each) came off during the ditching. So wouldn’t it be logical that the plane would be tilted due to uneven weight displacement? (see photos 14-15 in photos page)

3. The left rear door was breached (the door & door jam were damaged: see Jim Hank’s story below), and water was entering the plane’s cabin rapidly.

4. The commercial jet drifted (and or was towed) for almost four miles to where they docked it in lower Manhattan, by the World Trade Center.

5. It was lifted from the icy water by crane the following evening at around midnight (interestingly in the dark of night). It was placed on a barge and moved to Weeks Marina in Jersey City, NJ. Then the wings were taken off and it was put on a flatbed tractor trailer and moved to Teterboro, NJ.

6. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you examine the photos 7 thru 22 in the photos page where they are removing the plane from the water at the wtc docks, you will realize that the night-time lights are shining from the right side of the plane. From what I have surmised, there is a concerted effort to avoid showing photos, or video of the left rear of the plane. However, I did manage to find these two revealing photos below.
   

I found this thumbnail photo to the right of the left rear of flight 1549 on the web. It was found on a picture search on ixquick.com. The original that was linked to the thumbnail gave this response: Sorry, but the original page cannot be found. Note that the rear end of the plane has been torn off, and is a dangling appendage.

Photos 8 thru 22 were shot by the crane operator (the time stamps on these photos begin at 11:33 pm on January 17, 2009 and end on 1:03 am on January 18, 2009, and are in chronological order).

These photos were taken by the crane operator lifting the Airbus out of the Hudson River . He’s a friend of my buddy, a fellow member of the CG Aux. .. They lifted the airliner out of the Hudson yesterday… It’s now bein’ looked at right here in the port of Jersey City” – Marg Uerite

Just found (March 16) these Must See high quality Photos (this person had access!)xxTAIL WING, xPLANE CRASH RECOVERY, xPLANE RECOVERY, xLIFT, xPLANE, BARGE, HOIST, xPLANE RECOVERY FLT 1549, there are high resolution photos connected to the above links for viewing.

More Evidence:

Baltimore man recounts survival of Flight 1549
Baltimore Sun (January 19, 2009)

Excerpts:

Corporate attorney Jim Hanks, 65, a partner in the Baltimore office of Venable LLP, prefers to sit at the front of the plane when he flies. But for the Airbus A320 flight to Charlotte, N.C., the Federal Hill resident found himself in an aisle seat three rows from the back. The location that would complicate Thursday’s ordeal. He tells the story in his own words:

There was just a huge crash. It was just a very, very hard, loud impact. There was stuff flying all around, a lot of noise, crashing. I wound up with this big piece of metal on my lap. It had to be some part of the plane.

I remembered, of course, what you hear so many times on airliners at the beginning of each trip, head for the nearest exit, remembering that it may be behind you. So, I went back to the rear. As soon as I stepped into the aisle, there was already three or four feet of water. It was pretty close to my waist.

There were a couple of flight attendants, and they were actually coming forward. One of them said, ‘It’s hopeless,’ referring to getting the door open. Notwithstanding that, I took a couple of steps further back to actually see for myself.

What I saw was openings between the door and the jamb that were allowing a lot of water to rush in. And also I could see that the water was rising on the outside of the plane. That should have been enough for me to realize that the flight attendants were right and to get out of there, but nevertheless I tried the door myself.

It wouldn’t budge. By then, the water had risen nearly to his chin. Hanks thought that he was going to drown.

• We were probably on the raft for about 30 minutes.

PDF print only version: Baltimore man recounts survival of Flight 1549

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What Went Right: Flight 1549 Airbus A-320′s Ditch into the Hudson
Popular Mechanics (January 17, 2009)

Excerpts from Reader Comments:

20. ***THE REAR DOOR WAS OPEN!***
The vessel was breached, so even if they did use the ‘ditching’ button, it would not have mattered. Passenger Jim Hanks told the Associated Press: “I could see that the door jamb and the door were twisted and bent, in a way that was letting in water, and it was also clear that the door was not going to be able to be opened. Nonetheless, I tried,” Hanks said. “In just the five or six or seven seconds between getting out of my seat and getting back there, and trying the door, the water rose from my waist to my neck…”. The photos clearly show that it was cracked, moments after impact.

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What is thought provoking here is that Wikipedia’s version below left out the details of Jim Hank’s account of the story where he states that there were openings between the door jam and the door. (His version would possibly indicate that this damage could have been done on ditching). And the Wikipedia article doesn’t even mention Mr. Jim Hanks?

Wikipedia US Airways Flight 1549 excerpt:

One rear door was opened by a panicked passenger,* causing the aircraft to fill more quickly with water. The flight attendant in the rear attempted to close the rear door, but was not successful, she told CBS News.

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*REALLY: again, let me emphasize the effort here to avoid shining any light on the fact that there was any physical damage to the plane, and in particular the rear door area that was damaged. Heaven forbid, there be a blemish on SULLY’S PERFECT CONTROLLED DITCHING.

MY SUMMATION: If there was a lot of damage to the left rear door area of the plane, and IF the public were to see this, they might deduce: THERE IS NO WAY THAT PLANE COULD HAVE STAYED AFLOAT THAT LONG.

Interesting note: I found this one page pdf graphic labeled: “Drama of Flight 1549″ (it was created at 3:40 am-Jan 16) on NY Daily News website for article: Witnesses hear a blast – but watch US Airways Flight 1549 glide in for a perfect landing that illustrates that the left rear door on the plane was closed. xPDF Graphic xPhoto 4 in the photos page on this site is from their article.

Something smells a bit fishy folks!

There seems to be a lack of close up photos, and also most of the video footage is fussy and murky. How is this possible in the most high-tech age, in addition to being in the most crowded area of population and also the most monitored with high end surveillance equipment. Rudy Giuliani even started his own surveillance company after nine-eleven.

When I was searching for info on Jim Hanks, most of the links I came across were showing: not found or has been removed. (I pray that THEY, don’t remove Jim Hanks). Stuff related to this EVENT seems to be mysteriously disappearing.

You can’t tell me that there isn’t one main stream media company such as CBS, ABC, NBC, or Fox with a news helicopter (and they all have those high resolution video cameras mounted on the nose) that did not record this whole event.  I would like to get my hands on one whole 40 minute video of the  primary rescue operation uncut from one of those helicopters.