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Flight 1549's Left Engine Found
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 21, 2009
Modified Jan 21, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 21, 2009
Modified Jan 21, 2009
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Almost a week after US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River, NYPD divers have found the missing left engine in the waters. According to Newsday, the divers "discovered the engine about 3 p.m. in the middle of the river about 60 feet deep...The NYPD divers had been held back for three days because of heavy ice floes after sonar located a large object on the river bottom on Sunday." The U.S Army Corps of Engineers will assist in lifting the engine
The plane's right engine was still attached to the plane; it turns out that the FAA had warned that the engines of the Airbus A320 were "prone to a rare type of stall" two weeks before last week's incident. Right now, it's suspected that a bird strike caused the engine failure, but the National Transportation Safety Board has said the investigation could take a year. NTSB chief investigator Robert Benzon said, "In [a crash landing] like this, I think there's potential for a lot of good to come out of it, long-term good," because people will be able to study how everyone survived.
As for other things the NYPD divers have found, the AP gives a partial tally: " 35 flotation seat cushions, 12 life jackets, 15 pieces of luggage, two briefcases, 11 purses, 15 suit jackets and shirts, four shoes and two hats."
Update: ABC News reports that investigators found a feather and "organic material" on the left engine!
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flight 1549
miracle on the hudson
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us airways flight 1549
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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