Twitter; Getty ImagesA Delta Air Lines plane flying from Atlanta slid off a slippery runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport during a snowstorm, crashed through a fence and barely avoided hitting the water on Thursday morning, forcing an emergency evacuation of its 125 passengers and five crew members.
Several minor injuries were reported and two people were hospitalized, Pat Foye, Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said in a news conference. Among the passengers were New York Giants tight end Larry Donnell and Jaime Primak, who stars on the Bravo reality show Jersey Belle. Neither reported injuries.
"Look at this s--t," Donnell wrote alongside an Instagram video, which shows the nose of the two-engine McDonnell Douglas MD-88 plane on the other side of a smashed fence that separates the airport from Flushing Bay. "I knew I shoulda stayed my ass at home."
The clip also shows passengers, bundled up in coats, exiting through the emergency doors onto one of the plane's wings as rescue workers offer assistance. Others are seen on the ground scurrying to buses that were sent to bring them to a terminal.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey issued a statement after the crash and the National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation.
"Delta (@Delta) Flight 1086 from #ATL to #LGA landing on Runway 13 skidded into a fence at approximately 11:05AM this morning," read a tweet posted on the group's official Twitter page. "All 125 passengers and five crew members were safely taken off plane."
"This particular runway had been plowed shortly before the incident and pilots on other planes reported good braking action. I think the pilot did everything he could to slow the aircraft down," Foye said at the news conference. "Obviously the pilot and the co-pilot's good efforts were reflected in the fact that there were only minor injuries."
"With respect to passengers, the chutes, as we understand, did not deploy," he added. "The airport rescue and firefighting division of the Port Authority police was on scene."
He also said firefighters sprayed foam to stop a fuel leak.
NOW: #ESU #Harbor @FDNY & PAPD at #LGA. Minor fuel spill. All passengers removed. Minor injuries @Delta @nycoem pic.twitter.com/SbYRLV9FLI
? NYPD Special Ops (@NYPDSpecialops) March 5, 2015LaGuardia Airport was shut down following the accident and the Federal Aviation Administration has said it is expected to reopen later in the day.
Several arriving flights were diverted to Newark International Airport in New Jersey and other airports, while a majority of flights scheduled to depart from LaGuardia were canceled that day, before and after the crash.
"Due to AIRCRAFT INCIDENT, the La Guardia Airport (LGA) was closed as of Mar 05 at 11:09 AM EST," read an alert posted on the airport's website.