Records show plane suffered previous malfunction

[January 20, 2009]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The US Airways jet that made a dramatic emergency landing on New York's Hudson River last week experienced an engine compressor failure two days earlier, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said Monday that the board's examination of the Airbus 320's maintenance records show "there was an entry in the aircraft's maintenance log that indicates a compressor stall occurred on Jan. 13." The compressor, or fan, draws air into the engine.

He said the flight had a different pilot that day, and the board planned to interview that pilot to learn more about the incident.

NTSB investigators so far have not uncovered "any anomalies or malfunctions with Flight 1549 from the time it left the gate at LaGuardia Airport on Jan. 15 to the point the pilot reported a bird strike and loss of engine power," Knudson said. Pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was able to glide to plane to an emergency river landing and there were no fatalities.

CNN reported Monday that passengers on the Flight 1549 that left LaGuardia Airport on Jan. 13 reported hearing loud bangs followed by an announcement from the pilot that the aircraft was either returning to LaGuardia or going to try to land. There were differing accounts of the pilot's statements.

However, passengers said that a short time later the situation appeared to return to normal and the flight continued on to Charlotte, N.C., CNN reported. It's not unusual for a flight to continue on to its destination after a compressor stall if the engine returns to normal functioning.

The probe into the crash-landing will take a year, said Robert Benzon, a senior NTSB investigator, while the incident itself "is going to be studied for decades." He said lessons learned from the successful landing on the Hudson River could improve air safety.

"In one like this, I think there's potential for a lot of good to come out of it, long-term good," he said.

US Airways has sent $5,000 checks to each of the 150 passengers to compensate them for lost luggage and other belongings.

The airliner was at a New Jersey salvage yard Monday.

"I was surprised at how intact the plane was," said James Marchioni, a manager at Weeks Marine in Jersey City, N.J. "There were some bottom panels that were damaged. Other than that, it looked pretty good."

Marchioni said the NTSB estimated it would take "a week or two" to disassemble the plane so the parts can be shipped to an undisclosed location for closer examination.

The search for the plane's missing left engine was suspended until Tuesday because ice floes in the river made it too dangerous to put divers or special sonar equipment in the water.

President-elect Barack Obama said Monday he had spoken with Sullenberger, who told him, "Me and my crew, we were just doing our job."

"And it made me think, if everybody did their job -- whatever that job was -- as well as that pilot did his job, we'd be in pretty good shape," Obama said. Sullenberger, his crew and his family were invited by Obama to attend Tuesday's inauguration.

The five-member crew, including three flight attendants, has been besieged for media interviews. The crew and the airline released separate statements Monday pleading for privacy.

The crew said they "wish to offer their sincere thanks and appreciation for the overwhelming support, praise and well wishes they have received from the public around the world since the events of last Thursday."

They said they are willing to do media interviews "when the time is right."

US Airways said it was "extremely proud of the professional crew of Flight 1549," but said it and union leaders would "determine when media interviews are appropriate." The crew did speak with the NTSB.

[Associated Press; By JOAN LOWY]

Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister in New York, Ben Feller in Washington and Wayne Parry in New Jersey contributed to this report.

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