An Air Canada flight attendant who was 'ejected over 320 feet' from her seat remains in hospital with 'severe injuries' following the runway crash.
Both the pilot and co-pilot of the Air Canada regional jet were killed after it struck a fire engine on a runway while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport last week (22 March).
The CRJ-900 plane travelling from Montreal to LaGuardia was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members on board.
Among the injured was senior flight attendant Solange Tremblay, whose daughter has set up a GoFundMe as she 'continues to fight and recover at a hospital in New York'.
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"She was sitting in her jump seat in the forward cabin of the plane, directly behind the cockpit," Sarah Lépine explained.
"During the crash she was when she ejected over 320 feet from the wreckage. She was found still strapped in her jump seat lying on the tarmac."
Sarah said he mum was 'conscious for all of this, and has sustained severe injuries from this event'.
"She sustained a fractured spine where she continues to wait and see if surgery is required," Sarah explained.
"Furthermore, she requires skin graphs to repair the missing flesh she lost on her legs while sliding down the tarmac.
"She has even received a blood transfusion due to complications from her first surgery."
As a result, Solange 'will have to undergo several other surgeries, along with intensive rehabilitation to learn how to walk again'.
"At the moment our greatest fear is the risk of infection which could lead to other horrifying complications if her injuries become infected," Sarah said.
"My mother dedicated her entire life as a flight attendant, and was very proud of her work.
"She loved serving the public and helping them travel safely from their respective destinations.
"Right now, my mom needs your help. She is in New York for the foreseeable future for her recovery where she remains in constant fear of sustaining further damages than she has already suffered."
The page has received over $176KCAD in donations at the time of writing.
Air Canada said: "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."
In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it.
"Stop, stop, stop, stop," the controller said. "Truck 1, stop, stop, stop. Stop, Truck 1. Stop.
"Jazz 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can’t move. Vehicles are responding to you now."
The controllers then told a Frontier flight bound for Miami to go around as the crash unfolded.
"We got stuff in progress for that, man, that wasn’t good to watch," Frontier pilots said.
The controller replied: "Yeah, I tried to reach out to ‘em… And we were dealing with an emergency, and I messed up."
Frontier crews said: "No, you did the best you could."
The crash is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Anish Vij