Greeted and cheered by crowds and escorted by the N.C. Highway Patrol and news helicopters, the fuselage of US Airways Flight 1549 finally reached Charlotte on Friday morning.

Nearly 27 months after taking off from New York City for Charlotte, the main body of the Airbus A-320 was pulled into Charlotte/Douglas International Airport about 11:45 a.m., completing a journey from New Jersey.

The flight crash-landed in the Hudson River in January 2009, but the fuselage was carried by truck this week to Charlotte, where it will become an exhibit at the Carolinas Aviation Museum. A reception for the flight's pilot, Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and some of the 155 passengers -- all of whom survived the crash-landing -- is scheduled Saturday evening.

"I'm in heaven," said Shaen Dorsch, director of the Carolinas Aviation Museum, as the caravan reached the UPS facility gate at the airport shortly before noon.

Upon arrival at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, the plane passed under a canopy of water jets from airport crash trucks, a traditional salute.

Flight 1549 passengers Eileen Shleffar and Michael Leonard, both Belk executives who were aboard the plane on a business flight, were there Friday to greet the aircraft.

"I wanted to see my flight finally arrive," said Leonard, who was in seat 12D when the Airbus came down.

Shleffar, who was scheduled for a later flight but managed to get aboard Flight 1549 for an earlier return to Charlotte, called her husband of 20 years from seat 13D after the plane slammed into geese and it became clear the aircraft was headed down.

"He was like, 'Hey, what's up? You going to be late?' I said, 'No. We're going to crash.' "

They stayed on the phone until reception was lost when the fuselage skidded into the Hudson River.

"I didn't like flying before the crash, and I don't like it now," said Shleffar, who posed for pictures in front of the fuselage. "But I still do it. I want to live life."

Among the thousands lining the roadsides to see the plane pass were Dallas and Brenda Jamison, whose son Andrew was aboard Flight 1549. He was scheduled for a later flight out of New York, but managed to get the last seat, 25E.

He wound up in a forward raft beside Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. First officer Jeff Skiles handed him a life vest.

Jamison, now a dermatologist in Texas with a 5-month-old daughter, called his parents from the raft that day to tell them he was OK.

"Today, we're finally going to meet his flight," said Brenda Jamison, standing beside the plane's route outside Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

Nearby was C.P. Peterson, who has a personal connection to the flight. In 1951, when he was 15 and getting flight instruction, the engine of his Piper J-3 cut out on approach to Hartford, Conn. Like Sullenberger, he had to glide the plane in.

Peterson went on to a career in aviation as an engineer for Pratt & Whitney and worked on development for jet engines.

"I've had several interesting experiences in flying," said Peterson, 85.

Cindy Mack, a Charlotte nanny, had a viewing spot in the shade with Braedon Ashfield, 4, and his sister Hailey, 2.

"Anything involving trucks or airplanes is amazing to him," said Mack. Friday they got a combination of both.

At age 4, Felipe Pinzon-Trower is already an airplane buff and was identifying the models of aircraft flying over as he waited with his mother, Leticia Trower, for the fuselage to pass.

"He loves planes," she said. "They know him, everyone knows him, at the Carolinas Aviation Museum."

Earlier, thousands of people watched the truck, the fuselage and other vehicles in the caravan travel down Interstate 77. Large crowds stood on highway overpasses and bridges, watching and cheering as the caravan went by.

The truck pulling the Airbus fuselage crossed Lake Norman on Interstate 77 into Mecklenburg County about 10:45 a.m. By 11:10 a.m., the caravan had left Interstate 77 and merged onto southbound Interstate 85.

And by 11:20 a.m., the truck, fuselage and escorting vehicles got off I-85 at the Billy Graham Parkway -- just a short distance from the airport and the museum.

"People are everywhere," said Dorsch, as the truck and fuselage passed Exit 25 in the Birkdale area of northern Mecklenburg County.

Earlier, as the caravan passed through Mooresville, that city's fire department greeted the arrival from a highway overpass. Hundreds of people lined overpasses, bridges and other overpasses along the route through Yadkin and Iredell counties.

"We even have a helicopter following us," Dorsch said as the truck moved through Statesville about 10:10 a.m. A few minutes later, he noted, there were two helicopters -- apparently from TV stations -- following the truck. By 10:30 a.m., he said there were four helicopters flying in formation.

Dorsch said hundreds of adults and children gathered in Statesville at bridges and overpasses, waving and cheering as the truck came through.

The truck carrying the fuselage left a weigh station on Interstate 77 near the North Carolina-Virginia border at 9:09 a.m. Friday, according to Dorsch. By 9:40 a.m., the truck had reached Exit 79 in Yadkin County -- about 70 miles from Charlotte.

"People are everywhere," Dorsch said via Twitter when the truck passed Exit 88.

At Exit 79, he said the overpass "was just covered with people."

After seven days on the road, the fuselage is in the city where it was supposed to have landed on Jan. 15, 2009. That was before the Airbus 320 collided with a flock of Canada geese after taking off at New York's LaGuardia Airport, forcing a splash-down on the Hudson River.

At the museum, a former Wachovia hangar near Charlotte/Douglas International, the plane will be reassembled and become a permanent exhibit that museum officials hope will draw people from all over the world.

Thursday, Bill Elkin, one of the passengers, was making plans to see the plane as it passes his Mooresville house near I-77 Exit 36.

"It will be a bit of closure," Elkin said. "That plane is now a part of me and certainly changed the way I view life. It's made me far more appreciative of living in the now."

Earlier Thursday, the flatbed truck trailering the plane was stopped at the Hillsville, Va., exit for a load check. I-77 there begins its descent from the mountains and in spots is steep and curvy - and good brakes are required.

The plane was mobbed by hundreds.

"People are everywhere," said Dorsch.

"This is what we've seen everywhere we've gone. People are just excited to see this plane. It has been very humbling."