Plane skids off runway at LaGuardia airport, crashes into fence

WABC logo
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Plane skids off runway at LaGuardia airport, crashes into fence
A plane skidded off a runway while landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Thursday, crashing into a fence.

NEW YORK -- A plane skidded off a runway while landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Thursday, crashing into a fence.

Flight 1086 from Atlanta to LaGuardia skidded off the left side of runway 13 at 11:10 a.m. ET, crashing through a chain-link fence and apparently losing its right wing. The flight was scheduled to land in New York at 11 a.m.

The plane carried 125 passengers and five crew members. Two people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said the airport runway was plowed, and two other pilots reported good braking conditions minutes before the Delta plane landed.

Images show the plane resting in the snow, with its right wing apparently sheared off. Passengers were seen trudging through the snow in a line after climbing off the plane.

Courtesy: @steveblaze98

(Courtesy Twitter user @SteveBlaze98)

Delta said the passengers deplaned down inflated aircraft sides before being bused to a terminal. It said the airline will work with authorities to figure out what caused the crash. Multiple emergency rescue crews responded to the scene, and the National Transportation Safety Board was expected on the scene, according to the Port Authority.

A spokesman with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the plane was leaking fuel.

A conversation between Air Traffic Control and first responders was captured just after the crash. Other planes in the area at the time were told to stay in the air.

11:48:32: Tower, you have an aircraft off the runway

11:48:37: Delta 1999, go around, climb maintain 2000

11:48:43 The airport is closed, the airport is closed. We got a three-four

11:48:52: Tower, you have an aircraft off three-one on the north vehicle service road. Please advise crash rescue LaGuardia airport is closed at this time.

11:49:10: (Another quick go-around instruction)

11:49:53: Tower, are you talking to the flight crew of the MD80?

Tower: I'm calling up, ten eighty six, no response.

--OK, sir. If he comes up, he's leaking fuel on the left side of the aircraft heavily.

Tower: He's leaking fuel?

--Affirm. His wing is ruptured.

Due to the crash, all runways at LaGuardia were closed around 11:15 a.m. et. It was expected to reopen around 7 p.m. ET, according to Fly.FAA.GOV site. Port Authority said closing runways is standard procedures after such incidents.

New York Giant tight end Larry Donnell was aboard the Delta flight. When Donnell got off the plane, he posted a picture on Instagram, captioning it, "Look at this s**t! Knew I shoulda stayed my a** at home."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.