Passengers on an Air Canada flight that collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport recounted the “chaos” they experienced as the plane spiraled out of control down the runway. Despite the tragic loss of the pilots, there is a belief among passengers that their actions potentially saved many lives.
“It was a routine flight,” shared passenger Jack Cabot with Fox News, referring to the jet that arrived from Montreal shortly before 11:40 p.m. on Sunday.
Cabot detailed the intense experience: “As we landed, it was a very hard touchdown. We came to a stop abruptly, and just seconds later, we experienced a tremendous impact,” describing the crash that destroyed the front of the jet.
Both pilots were killed and 41 people were hospitalized in the horrific crash just before 11:40 p.m. which obliterated the front of the jet and forced the closure of the Queens airport for much of Monday.
“It was a regular flight like always. As we were arriving, we came down really hard. We stopped really quickly, 2 seconds later, we had an absolute slam,” Jack Cabot, a passenger onboard the regional inbound flight from Montreal, told Fox News.
“Everybody was flying everywhere. The plane veering off left and right. It was chaos. It didn’t feel like there was anybody controlling it,” he added.
Another passenger described how it appeared that the pilots had put the aircraft into reverse thrust at the last second, which may have saved many lives of those onboard.
“We had just touched down and maybe about 30 seconds later we all felt a jolt forward, then a loud bang, and what felt like sliding sideways down the runway,” passenger Brady Sego wrote on Reddit.
“Someone did say the pilot tried to reverse thrust at the last second. Honestly, they likely saved our lives. I wish I could tell their families how thankful I am. They are heroes,” he added.
Neither pilot has yet been identified, and the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Chilling air traffic control tower audio captures the frantic scenes, as one controller admits they “messed up.”
Haunting pictures taken Monday morning show the plane’s cockpit completely destroyed as daylight rises over the runway of the major travel hub.
