It wasn't until after US Airways Flight 1549 had=0Alanded in the Hudson Riv= er, and passenger Karin Hill was stepping=0Athrough an emergency exit onto = the wing, that it hit her.=0A"I=0Athought, 'My coat! My purse!' " she recal= ls. They were both back at=0Aseat 18E, where she was sitting Jan. 15 when t= he jetliner hit birds,=0Adestroying its engines and forcing it to ditch in = the Hudson.=0AThen logic returned. "I can't get them," she thought. "I'm no= t going back there."=0AThe=0A150 passengers left their belongings behind fo= r the Hudson to claim as=0Athey scrambled onto life rafts and rescue boats = and the jet sank=0Abeneath 50 feet of dirty water.=0AHill,=0A24, a college = student from Boulder, Colo., was flying home with=0Aboyfriend Chris Rooney = after visiting friends and seeing the sights in=0ANew York City. She hurrie= d off the plane wearing blue jeans, a sweater=0Aand boots, leaving her purs= e, backpack and a coat in the cabin and a=0Asuitcase in the cargo compartme= nt.=0AHill and other passengers never dreamed they would see their possessi= ons again.=0ABut=0Athis month, Hill and other Flight 1549 passengers are st= arting to get=0Aspecial deliveries: FedEx boxes containing dried and cleane= d wallets,=0Ahandbags, coats, cameras, jewelry, clothing, important papers,= even=0Atoothbrushes =E2=80=94 rescued from a watery grave and returned to = their owners.=0AIn=0Aa large, complex effort, US Airways has with the help = of a Texas-based=0Acompany spent four months recovering, sorting, cleaning = and restoring=0A36,000 passenger belongings pulled from the plane.=0AInside= =0AHill's FedEx box were her wallet and everything in it, a Swarovski=0Acry= stal bracelet Rooney gave her for Christmas, a digital camera and=0Asouveni= rs including a Playbill from the Broadway showWicked.=0ASeeing=0Aher posses= sions again "was bittersweet, because it brought back=0Amemories," she says= . Although the camera broke, "I never thought I'd=0Aget those pictures back= , and they were fine."=0AShe=0Awas stunned to see clear images of the Empir= e State Building, Ellis=0AIsland, Central Park and Tiffany, where she tried= on engagement rings.=0AAnd there was a shot of her and Rooney smiling at t= he gate, waiting to board Flight 1549.=0AEverything was soaked =0ADays=0Aaf= ter the accident, US Airways sent every passenger a ticket refund and=0Aa $= 5,000 check for immediate expenses. Although much of the=0Amultimillion-dol= lar recovery job will be covered by US Airways'=0Ainsurance, US Airways was= not legally required to do it.=0AWhen=0Aa fatal airline crash occurs, the = federal Aviation Disaster Family=0AAssistance Act requires airlines to retu= rn passenger possessions to=0Apassengers' families. Because no one died abo= ard Flight 1549, the law=0Adidn't apply.=0A"We did this because we care=0Af= or our customers and care that things be done right for them," says=0ADebor= ah Thompson, US Airways' director of emergency response, who=0Acoordinated = the effort.=0AAfter the accident,=0AUS Airways called Global-BMS, a Fort Wo= rth-based company that=0Aspecializes in disaster recoveries. When the jet w= as hauled out of the=0AHudson and placed on a barge for inspection by accid= ent investigators,=0AGlobal official Mark Rocco was there, walking the cabi= n to tag and=0Aremove personal items to return them.=0A"There=0Ais a strang= e bond people have to their stuff, an emotional bond to the=0Aincident that= 's part of their journey forward," says Rocco, Global's=0Asenior vice presi= dent for transportation disaster services.=0AEven after days in the Hudson,= the inside of the plane's cabin was eerily intact.=0A"It=0Alooked like it = had been in a dirty carwash," recalls Rocco. "A lot of=0Athe overhead bins = were still closed, and a lot of things were still=0Astored under the seats.= I saw a wallet on the floor and wondered why it=0Ahadn't floated out of th= e plane."=0AEverything=0Awas soaked and smelled of jet fuel. But every item= the Global workers=0Afound they tagged with a unique tracking number, bagg= ed and placed on a=0Arefrigerated truck bound for a Texas warehouse.=0A"Fre= ezing puts things into suspended animation," Rocco says.=0ABack=0Ain Texas,= Global began defrosting, cleaning and restoring everything it=0Acould =E2= =80=94 including everything inside carry-ons and suitcases =E2=80=94 and=0A= figuring out what belonged to whom. Most electronics didn't work after=0Abe= ing submerged, although at least one laptop hard drive survived, US=0AAirwa= ys says. Hill's digital photos did, too.=0AAmong=0AGlobal's techniques: hea= ting fuel-soaked items to 90 degrees to=0Aevaporate the jet fuel, using a b= iocide to kill mold and bacteria, and=0Aold-fashioned dry-cleaning.=0AIdent= ifying=0Asuitcases with name tags, as well as purses and wallets with drive= r's=0Alicenses, was easy. But more than 1,000 items have not been matched t= o=0Aowners, including many coats without identification.=0ARocco=0Asays Glo= bal will post photos of the unidentified items on a secure=0Awebsite in hop= es passengers can identify and claim them.=0A'I got it back' =0APassenger= =0AMaryann Bruce managed to grab her purse and nothing else that day=0Abefo= re bolting out of her seat and out the cabin door into a life raft.=0AOn he= r right hand she usually wore a large diamond ring she'd received=0Aon her = 25th wedding anniversary two years earlier =E2=80=94 but not this time.=0AR= eturning=0Afrom the New York-based investment company that she is president= of,=0ABruce had schlepped through LaGuardia Airport with a new laptop, her= =0Abriefcase, purse, a mink coat and a carry-on suitcase.=0A"The=0Aring mus= t've smashed my finger," says Bruce, 49, of Charlotte. "By the=0Atime I got= to the plane my finger was black and blue."=0ASo=0Ashe stashed the ring in= a jewelry pouch in her carry-on in the overhead=0Acompartment. When the pl= ane landed and the flight attendants ordered=0Aeveryone off, "I knew I had = to get off the plane even though the ring=0Awas up there."=0AAfter being re= scued, "I=0Athought I might get my suitcase back," she says. "But I thought= someone=0Amight steal my jewelry along the way."=0AA=0Acouple weeks ago, U= S Airways' Thompson flew to Charlotte to personally=0Adeliver Bruce's diamo= nd ring along with her briefcase, fur coat =E2=80=94 which=0Ahad her name s= ewn inside =E2=80=94 and suitcase. The coat and briefcase could=0Anot be fu= lly restored, and something red inside Bruce's suitcase bled=0Ared dye on e= verything else when it got wet. Her electric toothbrush=0Astill worked.=0AA= nd the diamond ring looked new.=0A"Oh my God, I got it back," Bruce says sh= e thought when Thompson <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".