Moving famous airplanes throughout U.S. history

Bay Crane and Weeks Marine lifted and moved the British Airways Concorde several times to and from the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

Heavy hauls are often newsworthy events, especially when it comes to transporting large-scale airplanes. Just last month headlines were made around the world when the British Airways Concorde, one of the fastest commercial aircraft in the world, was moved from the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City for restoration at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The Concorde Supersonic Transport plane, known as Alpha Delta, made the trip from London to New York in less than three hours. In 2003, the 203-foot-long aircraft was decommissioned and moved to the museum. Bay Crane and Weeks Marine were involved in lifting and transporting the plane via barge to and from the museum through the years.

Bay Crane rigged, hauled and lifted into place a 1958 Lockheed Constellation airplane, known as TWA Connie N8083H, to John F. Kennedy Airport in April 2019. “Connie” now serves as a retro cocktail lounge.

In April 2019, Bay Crane rigged, hauled and lifted into place a 1958 Lockheed Constellation airplane, known as TWA Connie N8083H, at John F. Kennedy Airport. The vintage aircraft is now a part of the TWA Hotel and the iconic TWA Flight Center built in 1962. “Connie” now serves as a retro cocktail lounge. The Lockheed Constellation L-1649A was restored in Maine and trucked to New York City. Worldwide Aircraft Recovery disassembled the plane, loaded it onto trailers and handled the journey to the airport, where it was stored until the installation. Just before the plane was set to be lifted into place, the fuselage was trucked to Times Square in New York City as a part of the filming of a documentary titled “The Rebirth of the TWA Flight Center.”

U.S. Airways flight 1549 also known as the “Miracle on the Hudson” is hauled through the streets in Elizabeth, NJ, June 4, 2011. The airplane which made a crash landing in the Hudson River in New York, is being taken to the Carolinas Aviation Museum. Photo Credit: REUTERS/Gary Hershorn

Coast Machinery Movers moved a Boeing Air Force One to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in April 2008. The plane served seven U.S. presidents. Perhaps its greatest legacy is that it carried President Reagan to Berlin in 1987 where he urged Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.

One of the most newsworthy airplane hauls was performed by J. Supor and Son Transportation, which hauled the A-320 Airbus that was skillfully landed in the Hudson River.

Known as the Miracle on the Hudson, Flight 1549 was piloted by Captain Sully Sullenberger, who landed the plane after it was hit by a flock of birds.

In 1968, utilizing three barge cranes, Bigge retrieved the Japan Air Shiga plane from the waters of the San Francisco Bay.

Miraculously, everyone on board survived after being rescued from the river.

After the rescue mission was complete, Supor’s team worked diligently through the chilling evening until the aircraft was removed from the water and raised to the surface. Supor’s team was also tasked with hauling the plane again for its final journey to the Carolinas Aviation Museum.