An Air Canada flight attendant who survived the deadly crash at a New York airport last month after being ejected from the plane says she is “grateful to still be alive.”
Solange Tremblay was the senior flight attendant aboard Air Canada Express Flight 8646 when it slammed into a fire truck while trying to land at LaGuardia airport just before midnight on March 22.
Both pilots, 30-year-old Capt. Antoine Forest and 24-year-old first officer Mackenzie Gunther, were killed in the impact. Tremblay and another flight attendant were injured in the accident, as well as the two firefighters in the fire truck and more than half of the aircraft’s 72 passengers.
Tremblay was sitting in her jump seat in the forward cabin, directly behind the cockpit, at the time of the crash. She was later found lying on the tarmac more than 100 metres from the wreckage, “conscious” and still secured to her seat.
Tremblay was taken to a New York hospital where she has received several surgeries after shattering both legs, her daughter Sarah Lépine wrote in a GoFundMe established to help her mother during recovery.
The open fractures require metal plates to repair the damage and she needs skin grafts to replace the flesh she lost on her legs while sliding down the tarmac, the fundraising post said. She also suffered what was believed to be a fractured spine and received a blood transfusion due to complications from her first surgery.
Tremblay posted on her fundraising page earlier this month to thank her supporters and offer an update on her progress.
“My spine is doing well, and I have a third surgery scheduled for my right leg next week,” she wrote on April 5. “I am recovering slowly, and I am very well supported by my employer, my family, and my friends, both near and far. I still have a very long road ahead of me, both physically and mentally, but I am strong, positive, and ready to get through it all.”
She said she has been heartened by both the donations and words of support.
“I want to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for your love, your support and all your beautiful words from all over the world,” she said. “I am speechless, deeply touched, and filled with gratitude for all the help you are giving me.”
More than $250,000 of the $300,000 goal has been raised so far through the platform.
Lépine said the financial support will enable both her and her mother’s husband, Denis Nicol Jr., to take a leave from their jobs to care for Tremblay at a New York hospital, where the long-time flight attendant will be recuperating “for the foreseeable future.”
The collision between the jet and the fire truck was the first fatal crash at LaGuardia in 30 years. It remains under investigation by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.
The federal agency said on its website that it continues to collect data, examine air traffic control procedures, and evaluate staffing levels, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days of the incident.
The preliminary report is expected to contain all the information gathered during the first phase of the investigation. The agency said the probable cause of the crash and any contributing factors will be disclosed in the final report, which is expected within 12 to 24 months.
