$5,000? Really?

Wow.

I just finished reading a CNN article that was a follow up to last week's plane crash into the Hudson River.

U.S. Airways is sending $5,000 to passengers in the crash-landed flight.

The airline is saving it will be "months" before passengers receive recoverable possessions. All items must be weighed, dried for eight weeks, and weighed again.

Now, why do they need to be dried for eight weeks? Please, U.S. Airways, this isn't like dry aging a steak.

And I highly doubt many passengers are going to see their stuff back. Good-bye cell phones, iPods, clothing, laptops, souvenirs. If I survived a freaking PLANE CRASH, I don't think I'd be too concerned about my bluetooth headset and wallet.

In case you live under a rock, a flight last Thursday from LaGuardia to Charlotte lost power to both engines, forcing an emergency landing on the Hudson River. All 155 people onboard survived.

And if I'd been one of the passengers, you can bet that $5,000 (oh yes, and another check with a flight refund) wouldn't really be enough to cut it. What did they give the pilot? An extra sick day?

Really, $5,000? The airline should at least give them $25,000 - $50,000. That's an absolutely terrifying ordeal, and U.S. Airways shouldn't shirk its responsibility with this assenine level of cheapness. That's like a guy trying to go dutch on a McDonald's date.

Adding up $5,000 times 155 passengers equals $775,000 plus let's say about $50,000 for the reimbursed flights. That's less than a million bucks. If U.S. Airways gave everyone $25,000 that's about $3.875 million.

Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger should get a huge raise and pension. He saved U.S. Airways' ass and tons of money. Imagine how much U.S. Airways would be out if everyone on the plane had perished. He should get compensated at least $1 million. With $25,000 for every passenger, flight refunds, and pilot compensation that's still under $5 million. Chump change compared to a barrage of wrongful death lawsuits.