Courtesy of LiveLeak

Video taken from the ground showing the Lancaster Bomber, escorted by two spitfires and two tornado jets.

Courtesy of LiveLeak

Video courtesy of Fairfax Media

Video courtesy of Fairfax Media

Edward Russell

The famous "Miracle on the Hudson" aircraft is now an exhibit at the Carolinas Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Flight 1549 was bound for Charlotte after departing New York's LaGuardia airport on the morning of 15 January 2009 before its fateful meeting with a flock of Canadian geese over New York.

While solemn in its presentation, the exhibit celebrates all of the factors that combined to allow for a successful ditching in the Hudson with no loss of life. Elements highlighted range from the experience of the crew and aircraft avionics to the fact that the A320 was one of only a handful in US Airways' fleet with extended overwater certification, which requires life vests and rafts for every passenger. One interesting fact that stood out - less than a third of the passengers on the aircraft had reviewed the safety card before the flight.

Edward Russell

N106US ended up at the museum after its president Shawn Dorsch was inspired by a visit to a memorial to JAL Flight 123 at the Japan Airlines' Safety Promotion Centre near Haneda Airport in Japan, which had a flow chart of safety improvements since the 1985 accident and ending at US Airways 1549.

"When I saw this, I realised that 1549 was an international aviation icon," Dorsch told Flightglobal in 2011. "For me, having it in the museum would give the opportunity to tell something much bigger than the event itself."

Edward Russell

Next time you're passing through Charlotte and have a few hours, the museum is a highly recommended diversion only a few minutes drive from the terminal.

It has been a big week for the Airbus A350 programme, with news of a wing production fix and a substantial order from Singapore Airlines.

They have also released this animated video detailing the steps involved on the final assembly line, mixed in a sountrack with sounds like a Jean Michel Jarre song given a trance makeover.

This video shows a spectacular takeoff of a UTair Antonov An-24, from what can only be described as a testing landscape.

We're looking to capture THE image of 2012 - the photo that encapsulates the essence of this great industry. The winner will feature on the cover of Flight International's festive issue and also receive £100 and a framed copy.

Last year, AirSpace user Flyvertosset was voted the winner and his stunning air-to-air shot of a Flying Fortress, taken on a Sony SLT-A55V, featured on the cover of Flight International.

AirSpace user Flyvertosset

There are three ways to enter the competition:

1. Upload your image to our dedicated gallery on AirSpace (signing up takes seconds)
2. Send your image to webmaster@flightglobal.com. Please limit to three images. Flightglobal will upload these images (with due credit) to the gallery so users can view them.
3. If you have already uploaded your image to AirSpace (remember they must have been taken in 2012), email the link to webmaster@flightglobal.com. Flightglobal will upload the linked images to the gallery (with due credit) so other users can view them.

Upload your image TODAY to the Flight International Front Cover Competition gallery on AirSpace

 Every year we receive hundreds of exceptionally high-quality entries. See the entries for previous competitions:

• 2011 Front Cover Competition entries
• 2010 Front Cover Competition entries
• 2009 Front Cover Competition entries
• 2008 Front Cover Competition entries
• 2007 Front Cover Competition entries

Closing entry for the competition is Monday 3 December - so enter now!

Front Cover Competition Terms & Conditions:

• Competition deadline is midnight on 3 December 2012.
• The image must have been taken during 2012.
• The image has to be owned by the person entering the competition, no forgeries or copies are allowed.
• The winner will receive a framed copy of the cover of Flight International and £100 prize money.
• There is no limit to the number of times each registrant may take part.
• No employee of Reed Business Information is eligible to enter the competition.
• Judges include the editors of Flight International and Flightglobal.com - their decision is final.
• Flightglobal can use entered images on editorial features around the site but will endeavour to give due credit when possible.
• More general rules can be found on Flightglobal's AirSpace site.

For details of Flightglobal's products and services, go to www.flightglobal.com/products

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