British Airways Concorde jet hoisted back into place onboard Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
NEW YORK -- After months of restorations, the British Airways Concorde jet was lifted back into place Thursday onboard New York City's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.
The historic supersonic jet could fly more than twice the speed of sound and holds the record for the fastest Transatlantic passenger flight in 1996 -- just 2 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds from London's Heathrow Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Watch the Concorde lifted into place
The Concorde left Brooklyn's Navy Yard on Wednesday and then docked for the night in Jersey City.
It started heading up the Hudson River early Thursday morning, passing the Statue of Liberty on its way to Pier 86 on Manhattan's West Side.
The voyage took about three hours before a 300-foot crane hoisted the plane back into position on the Intrepid.
Watch Chopper 2 over the Intrepid
CBS New York's Natalie Duddridge was along for the journey and had the chance to speak with Leslie Scott, the Concorde's record-setting pilot.
"The takeoff was always very exciting. The acceleration was a constant acceleration... So it was almost like a push in the back as you took off," he said. "The takeoff speeds were much higher than a regular airplane. We'd get in the air around 250 mph and accelerate up to 280 initially."
The decommissioned jet, which weighs 85 tons -- or that of 20 elephants -- traveled up the river on a 500-ton crane barge that was once used to lift the USS Enterprise space shuttle onto the Intrepid, and it pulled Capt. Sully Sullenberger's "Miracle on the Hudson" plane from the water in 2009.
Watch the journey up the river
The Concorde has been at the museum since 2003. It was removed for the first time last August for an extensive renovation. Museum curators said the jet underwent meticulous treatment, including the removal of its paint coating and inspections for corrosion.
"It's really so great. She was in need of restoration, there's no doubt. She had the most beautiful facelift. That was amazing" Intrepid Museum President Susan Marenoff-Zausner said. "And we really hear from the public how much she is missed."
"I mean, it's a legendary passage of flight, and also we're so lucky to have the Intrepid here on the West Side," said one spectator.
"It's amazing to be actually here to be able to watch this. She's back here. She has got a lovely new paint job," said Claire Walsh, a British Airways flight attendant.
"I'm fascinated with the Concorde," spectator David Dengilly said. "We used to think it was the thing of the future, and now, of course, it's a thing of the past."
The fleet of Concordes was retired in 2003 following a tragic crash. Experts said passengers became wary to fly after that, which combined with the expensive cost of tickets and the fleet needing an overhaul.
A flight cost about $7,000 back in 1976, which the museum says would be about $38,000 now, adjusting for inflation. At the time, it attracted many celebrities from rock stars to royals, as well as British family members of CBS New York's Chris Wragge.
The museum says the Concorde will reopening for viewing on April 4.
