A plane landing at LaGuardia Airport skidded off a runway and crashed into a fence Thursday morning, officials and witnesses said.
There were 127 passengers and five crew members on Delta flight 1086, an MD-88 that was headed to New York from Atlanta, Georgia.
The plane slid off the snowy runway around 11 a.m. which caused a fuel leak on the plane’s left wing. However, though the degree of the damage was unclear, it is believed that it wasn’t that significant.Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported, though one person was brought out the terminal on a stretcher and three women were rushed to a hospital. A total of 24 passengers reported minor injuries, according to an FDNY spokesman.
According to the Daily News, authorities said that the passengers slid down the plane’s emergency slides, then were put on a shuttle bus and taken to the Delta terminal, where they were checked out by paramedics.
Shortly after the accident, LaGuardia runways were shut down immediately. The city’s Office of Emergency Management noted all incoming and outgoing flights would be suspended until Thursday night.
In a statement, Delta said all customers deplaned safely and were transported to the terminal. Also, an investigation of this incident with Port Authority police would occur.
“Our priority is ensuring our customers and crew members are safe,” the airline said. “Delta will work with all authorities and stakeholders to look into what happened in this incident.”
MD-88 can seat up to 172 passengers.
