BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA AND LIAM LA GUERRE
Updated 4:27 p.m.
As snow covered the area Thursday morning, a Delta plane skidded off the runway and crashed into a fence at LaGuardia Airport, coming to a stop just short of the water, officials said.
The incident involved Flight 1086 from Atlanta that landed in New York at about 11 a.m., according to the Port Authority.
As the aircraft was landing on Runway 13, it slid, veered left and slammed into a fence on the edge of Flushing Bay.
All 127 passengers and five crew members were safely taken off the plane, according to the Port Authority, and then reunited with their families or taken to their destinations. Two people were transported to the hospital, with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries.
Officials also reported a fuel leak from the jet that was quickly brought under control.
One of the passengers on the plane included New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell, who was unharmed in the crash and posted a video of the evacuation to his Instagram account.
“I’m blessed to be safe and sound after our plane skidded off the runway at LaGuardia Airport today,” Donnell said in a statement released by the team. “I feel fine physically and hopefully all the other passengers did not have any significant injuries. We were all shocked and alarmed when the plane started to skid, but most importantly, as far as I know, all of the passengers and flight crew were able to exit the plane safely.”
LaGuardia was closed following the accident, with one runway reportedly re-opening by about 2 p.m.
At a press briefing Thursday afternoon Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye would not comment on the cause and said the National Transportation Safety Board is on its way to investigate. He did say two planes that landed before Flight 1086 reported “good braking action,” and that the runway was plowed shortly ahead of the accident.
When asked about the decision to close the airport, Foye said the call was up to the FAA.
and… LaGuardia shuts down. A photo posted by kristina (@kristinagrossmann) on
Passengers trying to get home were stranded at LaGuardia due to sudden delays and cancellations.
Katrina Pattalitan’s 2 p.m. flight was delayed until 8 a.m. Friday. The Jacksonville, Florida resident planned on spending the night at the airport instead of looking for a hotel.
“I wished they canceled it when we were still in the hotel, because we would have known what to do today instead of staying here at night,” she said.
Edith Kovacs and her son were trying to get home on a 3:30 p.m. flight to Toronto. But it had been pushed back to 10:30 a.m. Friday. The pair had no idea what to do with all their spare time and also decided to spend the night at LaGuardia.
“It’s nobody’s fault, it’s because of the weather,” Kovacs said. “Maybe they should have canceled flights earlier because [the plane accident] could have been worse.”
RECOMMENDED STORIES
