“The Miracle on the Hudson” Airplane Landing Harrison Connection

Everyone remembers the events surrounding the “Miracle on the Hudson” airplane landing. Geese flew into both engines of US Airways Flight 1549 out of LaGuardia Airport as it approached 3000 feet in the air.  The Airbus A320 plane’s engines stalled and could not be restarted. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger with the assistance of First Officer Jeff Skiles was able to land the plane in the Hudson River. The 100 passengers and 5 crew members sustained no serious injuries as Captain Sullenberger was able to glide the plane into a water landing in the Hudson River.

Everyone was impressed with Captain Sullenberger’s flight skills and calmness when confronted with such a dire predicament, the loss of two engines at close to 3000 feet in a heavily populated area.  His landing in the Hudson River was caught on video for everyone to see the “Miracle on the Hudson” for themselves. It truly was a Miracle.

The US Airways Flight 1549 Airplane is today the major attraction at the Charlotte Aviation Museum, in Charlotte North Carolina.  US Airways and its predecessor Piedmont Airlines have deep roots in Charlotte, North Carolina having been founded there and having a major hub at the Charlotte Airport. So it was logical that aviation enthusiasts would want the “Miracle on the Hudson” Airplane in Charlotte.

How did US Airways Flight 1549 get from the Hudson River to Charlotte, North Carolina? 

"Miracle on Hudson" Airplane being moved onto Joe Supor Truck on Supor Blvd in Harrison

It was hauled there by a company with a long history in Harrison (NJ).  J. Supor & Sons Trucking and Rigging Company (Supor).  Supor was founded by Joseph Supor Jr. (Joe Supor) who started in 1960 with one truck, a 1945 Ford, hauling Oil in the winter months and steel in the summer months.  Joe Supor was originally from Union City, NJ but he moved to Harrison and became one of Harrison’s greatest citizens.  He along with his sons transformed a trucking company into a premier hauling and rigging company in the country.  If you need to move a large piece of equipment or item from one location to another be it local or long distance, Supor can move it for you and put it exactly where you want it.  Supor also has wide open warehouses that can store your equipment temporarily until it is ready to be moved.  There is no other hauling company that can do that in the Eastcoast of the United States. Supor also has offices in Texas to facilitate cross-country operations.

Supor’s hauling of the “Miracle on the Hudson” plane to Charlotte, North Carolina was no easy job but one that Supor is used to handling.  Supor did not just haul the airplane to Charlotte.  Supor was the company that was called to take the plane out of the Hudson River before the waters of the Hudson sunk the plane.  Supor was on site at the Hudson River within hours of the crash securing the plane.  Supor is one of those companies other companies and government agencies call when they need expert crane service and hauling of massive structures.  This was not the first airplane that Supor has recovered from the region’s metropolitan airports.  Supor recovered previously a plane that went off the short LaGuardia Airport runway into the water.

Usually, Supor is called into action by the insurance carrier insuring the airplane which wants to mitigate damages after an incident or crash involving one of its insured planes.  Logically, you want to recover the various systems onboard a plane as much as possible to offset the insurance payment check being handed over to the airplane’s owner so they can purchase a replacement.

Joe Supor, Jr. At The Wheel of One of His Trucks.

Supor is also called into major plane crashes in the Metropolitan area because he has the facilities and warehouses to store the airplane securely for FAA investigations and repair or most likely salvage operations.

Normally, a plane like Flight 1549 would be sold off to an investor wanting to either junk it or sell the metal portion of the plane and/or its systems for parts.

US Airway Flight 1539 Airbus plane was stored in one of Supor’s Warehouses in Harrison NJ. Its departure from Harrison en route to Charlotte’s Air Museum was celebrated in the Town of Harrison and throughout its route of travel.  The plane's wings were removed for easier hauling and were later reattached having made the trip on separate trucks to Charlotte.

Joe Supor's success is an impressive story in itself.  From a one-man operation in 1960 with a used truck to a 5 truck company in 1968 performing trucking and rigging and shortly thereafter Crane Service.  Joe Supor also acquired turn-of-the-century buildings in Harrison previously used as heavy industrial manufacturing plants with a vision of warehousing large items in the course of his rigging and hauling service.  Joe Supor’s vision would come true and the addition of his sons to the business lead to a premier hauling, rigging, and crane service company.

On March 28, 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear plant had a partial meltdown.  Supor’s emergency response team delivered a special stainless steel containment tank from one of their warehouses in Harrison NJ for use in the recovery operation in Middletown, Pennsylvania.

Joe Supor was also someone who gave back to his community.  His employees instead of hauling heavy equipment would haul children in Halloween Costumes in several tractor-trailer flatbed trucks down Harrison Avenue during Halloween Parades year after year.  He did not charge for the service. He was named Grand Marshall of the Harrison Fest Grand Parade.  He loved to collect old Trucks, Locomotives, and Fire Engines and drive them.  He drove his antique trucks during Harrison Fest for many years.  He loved being a Harrisonian. He was considered by many to be the best trucker and crane operator and highly respected by his employees who became part of his extended family.

Joe Supor passed away in 2007 at the age of 71-year-old from cancer.  Joe Supor’s legacy continues not just in the company he founded but in the many charitable and philanthropic acts Joe Supor did in his lifetime. 

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