It is one of a few aviation museums located at an airport which serves as a major hub (Charlotte is the No. 2 hub for American Airlines). Its centerpiece attraction is the Airbus A320 used on US Airways Flight 1549.
Until April 2010, the museum was located in the airport's original 1932 hangar, built by the Works Progress Administration. The museum moved into a new facility at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport at 4672 First Flight Drive.[3] The new facility has enabled the majority of the aircraft to be inside a climate-controlled facility, as well as allowing for new displays.[citation needed]
In July 2019, the museum closed to the public and all aircraft were moved into temporary storage in preparation for the new facility. The museum developed plans for a new location with a planned re-opening in 2024.[6] In June 2021, the museum announced plans to reopen with a new main gallery and welcome center adjacent to the original 1932 hangar.[7]
On January 14, 2022, the museum announced that it would be renamed for Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger. The museum was to house a permanent Miracle on the Hudson exhibit. Also, the museum announced a US$1million gift from Red Ventures CEO Ric Elias, who survived the flight, and a US$500,000 gift from Lonely Planet.[8] The museum broke ground on its new facility in September 2022.[9]
In October 2023, as part of the rebuilding process, the museum announced a new logo.[10]
In advance of the official opening, which took place on June 1, 2024, a ribbon cutting was held on May 29, 2024, with Sullenberger himself attending.[11] The museum's president, Stephen Saucier, announced he would be retiring at the end of the fiscal year in January 2025.[12]
Preddy Memorial Foundation (World War II, Preddy Brothers artifacts)
The Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger collection, acquired by the museum in August 2018. This collection includes letters and items given to Captain Sullenberger after the successful emergency water landing of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in January 2009.
Aircraft in collection
N106US with tail reinstalledMuseum's F-14D and AV-8B Harrier
1549 Exhibit EntranceOverhead panel in cockpit of N106US
The museum holds a large collection of artifacts and memorabilia from various legacy airlines which merged into the now-defunct US Airways. The museum's special collections and archival material are currently in storage and inaccessible for research.
Case containing Capt. Sullenberger's and First Officer Skiles's uniformsFlight 1549 landing on the waters of the Hudson River
On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 took off from New York's LaGuardia Airport for a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, when multiple bird strikes a few minutes after takeoff forced a ditching in the Hudson River. The ditching and subsequent rescue operations were accomplished without loss of life.[50] The aircraft, an A320-214, was eventually recovered from the river.[citation needed]
In January 2011, the Carolinas Aviation Museum acquired the entire airframe from the insurance company, AIG, who donated the aircraft to the museum.[51][52] The airframe was transported by road from its storage location at J Supor & Son Trucking & Rigging Co. Inc. in Kearny, New Jersey to the museum at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte (where the aircraft was supposed to fly to on the day of the accident). The transportation took 7 days, between June 4 and 10, 2011, and covered 788 miles (1,268km) through New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.[53] Because the fuselage was transported in one piece, as it was when it was recovered from the river, the truck was 190 feet (58m) long. Virtually everything except the passengers' personal belongings are still in the airplane. The landing gear pins, fire axe, and the manuals were still in the cockpit, and the Coke cans were still in the beverage carts.[54]
The airframe has been reassembled and was on display from 2011 to 2019 in the same configuration as it was when it was pulled out of the Hudson River in January 2009. The airframe is being preserved as opposed to restored with dents from the birds and tugboat.[55] In addition to the airframe, Captain Sullenberger and First Officer Skiles contributed their uniforms to the museum's 1549 exhibit.[56][57]
The aircraft arrived in June 2011, and reassembly of the main components took about one year. The engines arrived in May 2012 and were planned to be reassembled in time for the fourth anniversary of the landing in the Hudson, on January 15, 2013. The museum opened a major new exhibit surrounding Flight 1549 with artifacts such as Captain Sullenberger's uniform in August 2012.[3]
The aircraft went into storage until the new facility opened in 2024.[11][58]
↑ Birch, Matt (Summer 2013). "The Last Flight of the First GII"(PDF). Waypoint. Savannah, Georgia: Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
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