Eyewitnesses have described the moment Air Canada flight AC8646 crashed into a fire truck on the runway of New York's LaGuardia airport, killing two pilots and injuring dozens of others.
We were literally like 100 metres away, says 23-year-old Leo Medina, who was onboard another plane on the tarmac when the crash happened. It was like the plane got cut in half.
He told the BBC he then had to return to the gate and had been waiting in the airport for more than 12 hours, sleeping on the floor on a bed of jackets.
Passenger Rebecca Liquori, who was on the plane arriving from Montreal, reported a loud boom just after it landed. As we were descending, we hit a lot of turbulence. Then we landed very roughly… Everyone felt it. It was like the plane jolted and you heard the pilot try to brake trying to prevent the collision, she explained.
Liquori recounted a scene of panic as she and other passengers helped each other evacuate down a wing. I'm just happy to be alive, she stated, reflecting on the unexpected terror of what should have been a routine flight.
Passenger Jack Cabot described how chaos unfolded immediately after the collision, with screams and a sense of dread enveloping the cabin. The crash, which occurred just before midnight local time, has prompted the closure of LaGuardia airport and led to hundreds of flight delays and cancellations.
The Port Authority confirmed that the fire truck had been responding to a separate incident just minutes before the collision, when another aircraft reported issues with odor. Investigations into the crash are currently underway, as officials strive to understand how such a tragic accident could occur.
