LaGuardia plane crash: Runway reopens after mangled aircraft, truck removed

While the Air Canada Express Flight was descending into LGA just before midnight on Sunday, air traffic controllers were dealing with an incident on a separate aircraft.

An incoming United Airlines flight was experiencing an odor in its cabin and declared an emergency on board as some of the flight attendants were feeling ill, according to ATC audio recordings. The plane was asking for a gate to park at to let everyone out just before the collision with a different plane, and a fire truck happened.

The Port Authority fire truck radioed to Air Traffic Control, asking for permission to cross runway 4 to get to the United flight to check on passengers. But while Air Traffic Control could be heard giving the approval to cross, the Air Canada Express flight was descending onto the same runway.

Dan Krauth investigates what air traffic controllers were dealing with at the time of the LaGuardia collision.

"It is both significant and concerning," said Michael McCormick, a former VP of the FAA who used to be in charge of the airspace in the New York area.

According to McCormick, there's usually at least one controller directing ground traffic and at least one controller directing arrivals and departures. That's not what he heard initially on the audio recordings.

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The National Transportation Safety Board is examining black box recordings recovered from Air Canada Express Flight 8646.

Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport remains closed as investigators parse through the debris and wreckage of the Jazz Aviation Mitsubishi CRJ-900 and Port Authority fire truck involved in Sunday night's deadly collision.

Phil Taitt has the latest on the current status of the NTSB investigation.

Phil Taitt reports from LaGuardia Airport.

Plus, Jaysha Patel has more on the passengers and crew.

Jaysha Patel reports.

A woman from Long Island, who was on board the Air Canada flight when it collided with a fire truck on the runway, described the terrifying moments that followed.

"I just thank god that I was able to get out of the plane in one piece," said crash survivor Rebecca Liquori.

Liquori, from Baldwin, recorded the plane wreckage from the tarmac on her cell phone.

"It started as a normal happy day and ended as one of the worst days of my life," she said.

Chantee Lans spoke to Rebecca Liquori, one of the survivors of the collision.

Liquori says she was on her way home to Long Island from Montreal after attending her cousin's baby shower when the jet crashed into the fire truck.

"I didn't expect the whole front of the plane to be gone," she said. "Every time I close my eyes I hear the crash. I hear the screams. I hear the panic. I haven't been able to sleep since leaving the crash."

She described the moments leading up to the crash.

"He landed and it kind of jolted the plane and we jolted and everybody was like, 'oh, my god.' And then you hear this grinding noise of him, like hitting the brakes to try to slow down the impact. and then you just hear this huge boom."

Frightened, she says all she could think about was her husband and two young sons.

"The crash happened so quickly that I thought I was gone," Liquori said. "When I opened my eyes and I saw I'm still alive and I can still escape, I thought I have to get out. I have to make it to my boys."

She was seated at 19A, the emergency exit row.

"I opened mine on the left side. The person on the right side opened his," she said.

The person on the right was a man named Joe.

"Honestly, with what the pilots did there, I believed saved many lives on that flight and my heart is just broken for them," Liquori said.

Liquori said the pilots were heroes.

"Absolutely. They saved us and they weren't able to save themselves."

Liquori says Flight 8646 was delayed multiple times Sunday night. She says it was scheduled to leave at 8:30 p.m. but left closer to 10 p.m.

She also says it was overbooked. The airline offered $1,000 to passengers to catch the next flight. She says some people took it.

The Port Authority Police Benevolent Association released a statement Monday night following the tragic and deadly runway collision at LaGuardia Airport.

"The members of the Port Authority PBA are saddened by the deaths of the two Air Canada Flight 8646 pilots and offer their sincere condolences to their families. The Port Authority PBA is also thankful and grateful that the Port Authority police officer and sergeant are in stable condition. We hope for their complete recoveries.

The police officers of the Port Authority Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter (ARFF) Unit were responding to an aircraft emergency as they approached Runway 4. Truck 1 was in the lead and received instruction from Air Traffic Control for the ARFF Unit to cross the runway. As Truck 1 started crossing the runway, it was struck by Air Canada Flight 8646.
The tragic crash occurred in view of the other ARFF Units. The members of those units immediately went into rescue operations evacuating the passengers, securing their safety while not knowing if their fellow officers in Truck 1 were dead or alive. True professionalism."