Two pilots were killed, and many were injured as an Air Canada plane crashed into a fire truck on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in New York on Sunday. But even more could’ve died, for example, veteran flight attendant Solange Tremblay. She was ejected from her seat, and her daughter now described it as a miracle that she survived.
A total of 72 passengers and four crew members were on board the Air Canada Jazz Flight 8646 from Montreal to LaGuardia when tragedy struck on the runway in New York. The plane crashed into a fire truck and killed both the pilot and the co-pilot. The latest reports indicate that at least 41 people were taken to hospitals in the area.
“The pilot and co-pilot of the Jazz Aviation flight were pronounced deceased,” a Port Authority spokesperson told People Magazine. “Additionally, 41 people were transported to the hospital, 39 people on the aircraft and two ARFF officers.”
On Monday, Air Canada released a statement. It read, “We are deeply saddened by the loss of two Jazz employees, and our deepest condolences go out to the entire Jazz community and their families.”
Flight attendant ejected during fatal crash found alive strapped to seat
One of those who had to visit the hospital after the devastating crash was veteran flight attendant Solange Tremblay.
She had worked at Air Canada Jazz for 26 years when the incident occurred, and the fact that she survived the crash on Sunday is branded a “miracle” by her daughter.
Speaking with Quebec’s TVA News, her daughter, Sarah Lépine, explained that Solange’s seat has been ejected. She was more than 100 meters away from the aircraft, still strapped into her seat.
“It’s a complete miracle. At the moment of impact, her seat was ejected more than 100 metres from the plane. They found her and she was still strapped into her seat,” Sarah Lépine said, adding that her mother, Solange Tremblay, suffered multiple bone fractures and had surgery for a broken leg.
“She had a guardian angel watching over her. It could have been much worse,” Sarah added.
“Miracle”
So how did this even happen? In an interview with The Independent, Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti described the flight attendant’s survival as “extraordinary” when compared to the destruction of the nose of the plane.
“The flight attendant’s seat is kind of a jump seat that folds down and is bolted to the wall, the same wall that the cockpit utilizes,” Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator, said.
“It’s a very robust seat,” he continued. “It’s designed to withstand probably more crash loads than passenger seats because you need the flight attendant to help passengers get out of an airplane after a crash.”
