Flight attendant Solange Tremblay was thrown, along with the seat where she was sitting, more than 90 meters from the plane she was traveling in, after a collision with a firefighting vehicle on Sunday at LaGuardia Airport in New York, but survived. He suffered a fractured leg, but his life is not at risk.
Experts believe that the reinforced structure and four-point harness may have been decisive in minimizing injuries after the impact, in which two people died and dozens were injured.
“It is an extremely robust seat, designed to protect the flight attendant and help him evacuate after an accident,” said former federal investigator Jeff Guzzetti in an interview with AFP.
One of the main safety recommendations on an airplane is to keep your seatbelt fastened until otherwise indicated, even when the aircraft is already on the ground, a measure that reduces the risks of sudden braking or collisions. But even so, the Air Canada flight attendant had her seat designed.
In an interview with the Canadian station TVA Newsthe flight attendant’s daughter said that her mother was found still strapped to the seat after the accident. “It’s a true miracle. It could have been much worse,” he said.
Images circulating on social media showed the moment of the collision and the destruction caused. The fire truck was completely damaged, while the front part of the aircraft was destroyed.
In total, 41 of the 76 people on board were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, according to authorities.
The firefighting vehicle had been authorized to cross the runway to respond to an incident, which involved a plane that had to abort takeoff. After the accident, an air traffic controller even admitted a mistake.
The causes of the collision are being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), whose president, Jennifer Homendy, stated that the case must involve a combination of failures and that it is too early to pinpoint responsibility.
LaGuardia airport was closed after the accident.
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