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An Air Canada flight attendant who survived being thrown from a plane during last week’s deadly runway collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport has been seen in the hospital for the first time, as her daughter described severe injuries and a long recovery ahead.
Solange Tremblay, a veteran crew member on Jazz Aviation Flight 8646 operated for Air Canada Express, was found alive on the tarmac still strapped into her jump seat after the March 22 crash, according to her daughter Sarah Lepine.
In a fundraising appeal on GoFundMe, Lepine posted a photo of her mother in the hospital.
“My mom was conscious for all of this, and has sustained severe injuries from this event,” the fundraiser reads. “She continues to fight and recover at a hospital in New York.”
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“My mother’s injuries include two shattered legs (open fractures) requiring multiple surgeries where metal plates are needed to repair the damage done to her legs,” the statement continues. “She sustained a fractured spine where she continues to wait and see if surgery is required.”
Lepine added there are more surgeries ahead for her mother, seeking donations to help. The GoFundMe had over $133,000 raised from more than 2,200 donations as of Sunday afternoon.
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“At the moment our greatest fear is the risk of infection which could lead to other horrifying complications if her injuries become infected,” Lepine added. “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 crash killed both pilots when the regional jet collided with a fire truck while landing on Runway 4 at LaGuardia. The National Transportation Safety Board said the March 22 accident remains under investigation, while The Associated Press reported that dozens of passengers and emergency personnel were injured.
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Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti called Tremblay’s survival a miracle when “compared to the destruction of the nose of the airplane.”
“The flight attendant’s seat is kind of a jump seat that folds down and is bolted to the wall, the same wall that the cockpit utilizes,” said Guzzetti, a former federal crash investigator.
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“It’s a very robust seat,” he added. “It’s designed to withstand probably more crash loads than passenger seats because you need the flight attendant to help passengers get out of an airplane after a crash.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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