Will US Airways deny the claim for your laptop? Who knows about the bean counters though the passenger could fraudulently claim backache in retaliation.

What if a ferry picked you up? If uninjured, would you get off, grab a taxi, head to LGA or EWR and ask them to endorse your ticket on another carrier? US1549 was going to SEA after the CLT segment. What if you showed up at EWR and demanded they put you on the CO SEA nonstop? Since people were standing on the wings, they look fairly dry and uninjured! (which is great! ...and unexpected!)