NEW YORK (AP) — All but four of the passengers injured in Sunday’s deadly collision between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck have been released from the hospital, the airline said Wednesday, as crews began moving the mangled aircraft off the runaway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
The crash, which remains under investigation, killed two pilots. Roughly 40 people were treated at area hospitals for injuries, some serious. Further details on the four people who remained hospitalized were not immediately available.
The plane, which originated in Montreal, was carrying 76 people at the time of the collision with a fire truck that had driven out onto the runway after an air traffic controller cleared it to cross.
Much of the wreckage had blocked access to one of the country’s busiest airports for two days before it was moved away on Wednesday.
Air Canada stated the aircraft will be taken to a hangar, and they plan to reunite passengers with their belongings soon. Many aboard the flight managed to escape from the damaged aircraft. One survivor, flight attendant Clément Lelièvre, praised the pilots for their quick reflexes in minimizing the impact. The accident remains under investigation, and both firefighters in the truck survived.
