Solange Tremblay.Supplied
A GoFundMe page has raised more than $188,000 for a flight attendant who was badly injured when an Air Canada Express AC-T plane crashed into a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport upon landing on March 22.
The fundraiser for Solange Tremblay was launched by her daughter, Sarah Lépine.
Ms. Tremblay was one of two flight attendants on board Flight 8646. She was in her seat near the front of the plane and suffered severe injuries when she was thrown 320 feet on impact, according to the fundraiser.
Ms. Tremblay recovers in hospital. To her left is a woman identified by TVA Nouvelles as her sister.Supplied
“My mom was conscious for all of this,” Ms. Lépine and cousin Johannes Verbeek wrote on the page. “She continues to fight and recover at a hospital in New York.”
Pilots Antoine Forest of Coteau-du-Lac and Mackenzie Gunther of Ontario were killed in the collision, which destroyed the nose of the plane.
The Bombardier CRJ 900 originated in Montreal and was operated by Jazz Aviation, a subsidiary of Halifax’s Chorus Aviation. Chorus and Jazz did not respond to emailed questions.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash, and says it will release a preliminary report within 30 days.
Among the areas of focus for investigators is why air traffic control cleared the fire truck to cross the runway seconds before the plane landed. The truck was responding to an emergency on another aircraft.
U.S. officials probe staffing, fatigue, communication failures after Air Canada crash
Ms. Solange’s injuries include two shattered legs that require multiple surgeries, and a broken spine, her daughter wrote. She needs skin grafts for injuries she suffered sliding on the tarmac, and has already received one blood transfusion.
“My mom has suffered so much from this event and regrettably her struggles are far from over,” Ms. Lépine wrote. “She will have to undergo several other surgeries, along with intensive rehabilitation to learn how to walk again.”
Her mother will remain in New York for the foreseeable future, she said.
“My mother dedicated her entire life to her job as a flight attendant and was very proud of it. She loved serving the public and helping people travel safely to their destinations,” she wrote. “Now, she needs your help.”