Ryan N
21st May 2009, 08:14 AM
Hudson crash passengers start getting luggage back
May 20, 2009 - 5:26PM
Passengers, including an Australian woman, on a US Airways flight that ditched in the Hudson River in New York are starting to get their luggage back, dried out and neatly packed inside FedEx boxes.
Flight 1549 ditched in the river on January 15 and all passengers and crew scrambled aboard life rafts and rescue boats before the plane sank with their personal belongings.
Perth singer Emma Cowan, 26, travelling overseas for the first time, was leaving New York after a week of sightseeing when the pilot of the Airbus was forced to ditch into the Hudson.
Many passengers thought they would never see their belongings again.
But this month, Flight 1549 passengers are starting to get special deliveries of FedEx boxes containing dried and cleaned wallets, handbags, coats, cameras, jewellery, clothing, important papers and even toothbrushes rescued from the waters of the Hudson, USA Today reports.
In a large, complex effort, US Airways has with the help of a Texas-based company spent four months recovering, sorting, cleaning and restoring 36,000 passenger belongings pulled from the plane when it was recovered from the riverbed.
Inside passenger Karin Hill's FedEx box were her wallet and everything in it, a Swarovski crystal bracelet she was given for Christmas, a digital camera and souvenirs.
Seeing her things again "was bittersweet, because it brought back memories," she says. Although the camera broke, "I never thought I'd get those pictures back, and they were fine."
She was stunned to see clear images of the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, Central Park and Tiffany, where she tried on engagement rings, USA Today reported.
Days after the accident, US Airways sent every passenger a ticket refund and a $US5,000 ($A6,460) cheque for immediate expenses.
Although much of the multimillion-dollar recovery job will be covered by US Airways' insurance, US Airways was not legally required to do it.
When a fatal airline crash occurs, the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act requires airlines to return passenger possessions to passengers' families. Because no one died aboard Flight 1549, the law didn't apply.
"We did this because we care for our customers and care that things be done right for them," says Deborah Thompson, US Airways' director of emergency response, who coordinated the effort.
After the accident, US Airways called Global-BMS, a Fort Worth-based company that specialises in disaster recoveries and the work of recovery began after the jet was hauled out of the Hudson.
Identifying suitcases with name tags, as well as purses and wallets with driver's licences, was easy. But more than 1000 items have not been matched to owners, including many coats. Global will post photos of the unidentified items on a secure website in hopes passengers can identify and claim them.
AAP
May 20, 2009 - 5:26PM
Passengers, including an Australian woman, on a US Airways flight that ditched in the Hudson River in New York are starting to get their luggage back, dried out and neatly packed inside FedEx boxes.
Flight 1549 ditched in the river on January 15 and all passengers and crew scrambled aboard life rafts and rescue boats before the plane sank with their personal belongings.
Perth singer Emma Cowan, 26, travelling overseas for the first time, was leaving New York after a week of sightseeing when the pilot of the Airbus was forced to ditch into the Hudson.
Many passengers thought they would never see their belongings again.
But this month, Flight 1549 passengers are starting to get special deliveries of FedEx boxes containing dried and cleaned wallets, handbags, coats, cameras, jewellery, clothing, important papers and even toothbrushes rescued from the waters of the Hudson, USA Today reports.
In a large, complex effort, US Airways has with the help of a Texas-based company spent four months recovering, sorting, cleaning and restoring 36,000 passenger belongings pulled from the plane when it was recovered from the riverbed.
Inside passenger Karin Hill's FedEx box were her wallet and everything in it, a Swarovski crystal bracelet she was given for Christmas, a digital camera and souvenirs.
Seeing her things again "was bittersweet, because it brought back memories," she says. Although the camera broke, "I never thought I'd get those pictures back, and they were fine."
She was stunned to see clear images of the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, Central Park and Tiffany, where she tried on engagement rings, USA Today reported.
Days after the accident, US Airways sent every passenger a ticket refund and a $US5,000 ($A6,460) cheque for immediate expenses.
Although much of the multimillion-dollar recovery job will be covered by US Airways' insurance, US Airways was not legally required to do it.
When a fatal airline crash occurs, the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act requires airlines to return passenger possessions to passengers' families. Because no one died aboard Flight 1549, the law didn't apply.
"We did this because we care for our customers and care that things be done right for them," says Deborah Thompson, US Airways' director of emergency response, who coordinated the effort.
After the accident, US Airways called Global-BMS, a Fort Worth-based company that specialises in disaster recoveries and the work of recovery began after the jet was hauled out of the Hudson.
Identifying suitcases with name tags, as well as purses and wallets with driver's licences, was easy. But more than 1000 items have not been matched to owners, including many coats. Global will post photos of the unidentified items on a secure website in hopes passengers can identify and claim them.
AAP