LaGuardia Airport has now experienced two tragedies exactly 34 years apart.
A passenger plane crashed as it attempted to take off from the Queens travel hub in a snowstorm on March 22, 1992.
The Cleveland-bound USAir flight tumbled off the runway and spiraled into Flushing Bay, killing 27 of the 51 people on board, including the pilot, the New York Times reported at the time.
“Every night, I close my eyes and I keep seeing and hearing the people screaming,” survivor Robert Main Jr., an executive with Lenscrafters, told the newspaper.
Latest coverage on the deadly Air Canada crash at LaGuardia Airport
- LaGuardia passengers describe ‘chaos’ before fatal crash, and recount pilot’s heroic final act that saved lives
- Two pilots dead, 41 people hospitalized after Air Canada plane hits fire truck when landing at LaGuardia, causing airport closure
- LaGuardia Airport shuts down after deadly plane crash as NYC fliers already facing TSA chaos
- LaGuardia plane crash audio captures moments before fatal collision: ‘I messed up’
“And I keep feeling the heat of the fire. I’ve washed my hair a thousand times, and it still smells of jet fuel.”
LaGuardia faced another tragedy late Sunday when an Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck while landing, killing the pilot and co-pilot while injuring scores of passengers.
