‘A miracle’: Canadian flight attendant ejected from plane survives New York crash | New York
A flight attendant on an Air Canada Jazz plane that collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia airport on Sunday survived what her daughter called “an absolute miracle” when she was thrown more than 100 meters from the plane while strapped into her seat.
The CRJ-900 jet operated by Jazz Aviation collided with a fire truck during landing, killing both the pilot and co-pilot. Nine people, including flight attendant Solange Tremblay, were hospitalized with injuries.
“It’s an absolute miracle. At the moment of impact, his seat was thrown more than 100 meters away from the plane. They found him and he was still strapped into his seat,” said his daughter, Sarah Lépine. He told Quebec’s TVA News. “He had a guardian angel protecting him. It could have been a lot worse.”
Lépine said her mother suffered multiple bone fractures and was hospitalized for surgery on a broken leg.
According to her social media profile, Tremblay started working as a flight attendant at Jazz 26 years ago.
Jazz Aviation, owned by Chorus Aviation, is an independent regional airline operating short-haul flights on behalf of Air Canada under the Air Canada Express brand.
Montreal-based Air Canada has not commented on Tremblay, but several staff members confirmed details of the incident to the Guardian.
TVA said one of the pilots was 30-year-old Antoine Forest, who lived in Coteau-du-Lac, a city southwest of Montreal. He joined Jazz Aviation in 2022. The other pilot was Mackenzie Gunther, according to Radio-Canada sources. I approved.
“The loss of two crewmates on Flight 8646 is a profound tragedy,” said Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, the world’s largest airline pilots union.
“These pilots have dedicated their careers to the safe transportation of passengers, and we are all thinking of their families, loved ones and colleagues at Jazz Aviation during this devastating time.”
In air traffic control recordings, minutes before the crash, personnel could be heard radioing to allow the vehicle to cross part of the runway and then attempt to stop it.
As the controller tries to steer the incoming plane away from landing, the transmission says “Stop, Truck 1. Stop.” Audio recording was released after the collision LiveATC Air traffic controllers appear to be discussing the incident.
One controller said the impact was “not good to watch.” Another replied: “Yes, I know I’m here. I tried to reach out… we were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed it up.”
“No man, you did your best,” the other controller says in the recording.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in question the crash was “deeply distressing”.
