A flight attendant aboard the Air Canada plane that collided with a fire truck on the runway of New York’s LaGuardia airport Sunday night was found alive on the tarmac still strapped into a jump seat, according to reports.
Citing unnamed law enforcement sources, both
and
reported that the woman was thrown from the wreckage of the CRJ -900 jet after its collision with the Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle that had been given clearance to cross a runway to respond to an emergency at another aircraft.
The pilot and co-pilot of the nearly fully-loaded aircraft were killed, while 39 of the 72 passengers were sent to hospital. At last report, nine remain in care, some in critical condition.
The flight attendant was injured but is expected to survive. It’s not immediately clear if the other flight attendant was also injured.
Two occupants of the fire truck also suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Based on the schematics at
and other travel sites, the Bombardier version used by Air Canada has two jump seats for cabin crew — one near the tail section, the other near the cockpit, which is where sources said the ejected flight attendant was seated.
Shakti Denis, a former Air Canada flight attendant now working as a reporter for
, confirmed the flight attendant’s seating arrangement.
“When there is an impact, normally the flight attendants will wait to hear from the pilots,” she explained.
“If the flight attendants don’t hear anything from the pilots, then they would themselves initiate an evacuation… If you don’t hear that call, then you must use your own judgment.”
“Today is an incredibly difficult day for our airline, our employees, and most importantly, the families and loved ones of those affected by the accident involving flight 8646,” Air Canada Jazz president Doug Clarke said in
“We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of our two pilots and our unwavering support to those who have been injured.”
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation and Canada’s Transportation Safety Board has also sent a team in support.
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