A collision at LaGuardia Airport turned tragic when an Air Canada flight crashed into a fire truck on the runway, killing both pilots and injuring dozens onboard on Monday.
The incident occurred around 11:40 p.m. as Flight 8646 struck a Port Authority emergency vehicle that had been cleared to cross Runway 4. The front of the aircraft was destroyed on impact, and the fire truck was left mangled.
Of the 76 passengers and crew, 41 were hospitalised with mostly minor injuries, the pilot Antoine Forest and co-pilot Mackenzie Gunther died instantly. Authorities say the crash likely involved multiple failures, and the investigation is ongoing.
Flight attendant survives 300-foot ejection in ‘total miracle’
Amid the devastation, one story needs a special notice. Flight attendant Solange Tremblay survived after being thrown more than 300 feet from the aircraft during the crash. She was seated in her jump seat at the time of impact and was found still strapped in after being ejected.
Regardless of the force of the crash, she suffered only a fractured leg. Her daughter, Sarah Lepine, called her survival a “total miracle,” saying, “I’m still trying to understand how all this happened, but she definitely has a guardian angel watching over her,” she told The New York Post.
Expert says role of specially designed jump seat
Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti explained to The New York Post that Tremblay’s survival was largely due to the design of the flight attendant’s jump seat. Unlike standard passenger seats, these are built to withstand extreme crash forces and are secured to the aircraft’s structure.
“The flight attendant’s seat is kind of a jump seat that folds down and is bolted to the wall, the same wall that the cockpit utilizes,” said Guzzetti to The New York Post. “It’s a very robust seat,” he explained to The New York Post. “It’s designed to withstand probably more crash loads than passenger seats because you need the flight attendant to help passengers get out of an airplane after a crash.”
Multiple failures suspected as probe continues
Investigators are now working to determine how the aircraft and the emergency vehicle ended up on the same runway. An air traffic controller was reportedly heard admitting he “messed up” shortly after the crash, but officials caution against placing blame too early. National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said, “We have found in all of our investigations that it is not a single error that led to a terrible tragedy,” adding that it is “too early” to draw conclusions.