The Air Canada flight attendant who narrowly survived the LaGuardia plane crash has been pictured in hospital for the first time.
Solange Tremblay was strapped into a jump seat and violently thrown 330 feet clear off the aircraft when it collided with a firetruck on the tarmac at the New York City airport last Sunday night. Both pilots were killed in the crash.
Tremblay, who was found still strapped in her seat on the tarmac, was conscious for the entire terrifying incident, her daughter Sarah Lépine has revealed.
Both of Tremblay’s legs were shattered in the collision and she now requires multiple surgeries to repair the damage, Lépine wrote on a GoFundMe page.
The flight attendant will need skin grafts on her legs, and sustained a fracture to her spine, which her family said may also require surgery. Tremblay also received a blood transfusion after complications arose from her first surgery.
‘My mom has suffered so much from this event and regrettably her struggles are far from over,’ Lépine said. ‘She 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,’ she added.
Lépine’s latest update included a photograph of her mother in her hospital bed, smiling alongside her daughter despite the severity of injuries.
‘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,’ Lépine continued.
‘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 GoFundMe campaign has already amassed more than $134,000 in donations.
Tremblay has been a flight attendant with Air Canada Jazz since 1999, according to her Facebook.
Air Canada pilots Mackenzie Gunther, 30, and Capt. Antoine Forest, 24, were killed in the crash. Their bodies have since been repatriated to Canada.
The crash happened late Sunday night as the jet was landing and struck an airport fire truck that had initially been cleared to cross the runway to respond to a separate incident aboard another plane.
The unidentified air traffic controller quickly realized the mistake he had made and was heard pleading for the fire truck to stop, but it was too late.
Surveillance footage released on Monday captured the violent impact, which sheared off the nose of the Air Canada plane, which was traveling at about 150mph.
Aviation experts said the tragedy could have been far worse had the truck struck the plane’s fuel tanks.
There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the aircraft. Forty-one people required hospitalization, including two firefighters. Most have since been released from the hospital.
The destroyed Air Canada plane and the fire truck were towed from the crash site late Wednesday as the National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation.
The agency said Thursday that the truck has been placed in an undisclosed, secure location and deferred to questions about the status of the plane to Air Canada, which didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The airline has said the plane will be placed in a hangar and that it would soon begin the process of reuniting passengers with their baggage and personal belongings.
