By Sadef Ali Kully
LaGuardia Airport’s Runway 13 reopened at 10:28 a.m. Friday morning after Port Authority Police, Delta Airlines and other personnel worked through the night to remove the aircraft damaged after Delta flight 1086 from Atlanta skidded into a fence and stopped short of Flushing Bay.
All 125 passengers and five crew members were taken off plane, six injuries were reported as well as some minor injuries, the Port Authority said. Multiple emergency rescue crews were on the scene.
During a brief press conference Thursday, Port Authority spokesman Pat Foye said the “runway had been plowed minutes before” the crash and two planes had landed safely several minutes beforehand. The passengers slid down the plane’s emergency slides, then were put on a shuttle bus and taken to the Delta terminal, where they were checked out by paramedics, a Port Authority source said.
The FDNY responded to the scene after the Port Authority requested assistance and passengers received triage emergency care, the Fire Department said.
The McDonnell-Douglas MD-88 aircraft is a twin-engine, short- to medium-range jet airliners and can seat 149 passengers.
On the right side of Runway 13, where the plane landed at 11:05 a.m. Thursday, are other airport terminals and on the left is Flushing Bay.
“I don’t understand how the Port Authority and the Federal Aviation Administration allowed this to happen,” state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) said Thursday.
“Both agencies need to give an answer as to why the plane had permission to land during today’s terrible snowy and icy conditions,” he said. “It was frightening to see how passengers were being evacuated from the plane onto a broken wing.”
The National Transportation Safety Board has begun its investigation into the incident, which it said may take 15 days to complete.
Reach Reporter Sadef Ali Kully by e-mail at skull
