Go out on a wing to buy stricken Hudson jet

IT COULD be the ultimate souvenir for any one of the 150 passengers who survived the famous Miracle on the Hudson – as long as they have a big enough garage.

A salvage yard in New Jersey is auctioning off the plane that hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger ditched safely on New York's Hudson River last January when a birdstrike destroyed both its engines.

The US Airways Airbus A320 is being sold "as is", and is listed on an insurance broker's website with "severe water damage throughout the airframe" and "significant damage to the underside of the aircraft".

The airline decided it would not be worth the cost of repairing the 11-year-old jet plane, which took its last flight from New York's La Guardia airport on 15 January last year as Flight 1549 to Charlotte.

Minutes after take-off, the plane struck a flock of geese, causing an total loss of thrust on both engines. The quick-thinking Mr Sullenberger, became a hero when he glided the stricken plane down to a water landing on the icy-cold river. All 150 passengers and five crew members survived.

The plane was hauled from the river several days after the crash landing and taken away for inspection. Industry experts valued the plane at $40 million (24.6m) before the accident, but say the sale price at auction will be substantially less, as the engines and wings are missing.

A scrapped Airbus A310 sold for $2.6m last year.

The auction ends on 27 March.