Woman who survived Air Canada plane crash recalls her experience of incident
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic
A survivor of the Air Canada crash has revealed that she is indebted to the two pilots who passed away.
On March 22, the plane collided with a ground vehicle on the runway of the LaGuardia Airport in New York, with a City Fire Department spokesperson stating that firefighters responded to the call at 11:38pm local time.
The flight, which left Montreal in Canada and had arrived in New York, slowed to approximately 24mph when it collided with an airport vehicle from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
In response, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement: "At approximately 11.40pm on Sunday, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada was involved in an incident on Runway 4 at LaGuardia airport in which the aircraft struck a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident."
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Sadly, two pilots were killed in the accident, and at least 41 people were hospitalized.
Air Canada pilots Mackenzie Gunther, 30, and Captain Antoine Forest, 24, were named as being the two people in the crash.
Another person, former dander for Dancing with the Stars in 2005, Charlotte Jorgensen, has revealed that she too was on the flight.
Posting to her Instagram account, she recounted how the two pilots 'made the ultimate sacrifice' to save those on board, writing how the crash has been hard on her, 'physically, mentally and emotionally'.
She wrote: “A week ago tonight, after a fabulous weekend in Montreal, I boarded Air Canada 8646 bound for La Guardia NYC.”
She went on to say: “By now, probably most of you have heard of the collision that happened with a firetruck on the runway. I owe my life to two brave souls Captain Antoine Forest and First Officer Mackenzie Gunther - they made the ultimate sacrifice so that we all could live…. I am indebted to them and my thoughts are with their families.”
The danger went on to say that ‘on the night I felt nothing as adrenaline was rushing through my body but the days after has been tough - physically, mentally and emotionally.’
“I am at home now, and Nelson and Vivianna are taking good care of me. I will be taking time to heal. I am grateful for all the love I have received and I send you all an extra warm hug,” she wrote. “Thank you to my @dancingwiththestars family for your care and concern.”