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Olympia woman who survived ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ honors 10th anniversary

Michele Winegar, who was on board Flight 1549 when it made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in 2009, traveled to the 10th anniversary commemoration.

An Olympia woman who survived the “Miracle on the Hudson” was in Charlotte, N.C. on Tuesday to commemorate the 10th anniversary.

“We call it the rebirth day,” said Michele Winegar, a bartender from Olympia.

On January 15, 2009, U.S. Airlines Flight 1549 hit Canada geese while taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York. Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and his crew successfully landed the plane on the Hudson River, and no one died.

After the landing, Winegar said she didn’t realize what an amazing feat it was, and she figured it was something that would pass over.

“It never really sank in,” she said.

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All of the crew and many of the passengers attended the commemoration in Charlotte, according to Winegar. 

Monday afternoon, survivors took a commemorative flight from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte Douglas International Airport, sitting in their original seat assignments and toasting at the moment of impact at 3:31 p.m.

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