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Plane skids off LaGuardia runway, slams into fence near bay
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A jetliner landing at LaGuardia Airport in a driving snowstorm on Thursday skidded off a runway and crashed through a chain-link fence, its nose coming to rest on a berm at the edge of an icy bay.
Six people were hurt in the midday accident, which authorities say came just minutes after the runway had been plowed. It was a near-tragic reminder of what pilots have long known about LaGuardia: Its relatively short runways and waterfront location leave little room for error, especially in bad weather.
At the time of the crash landing, snow was falling and a northeast wind was blowing at 9 mph (14 kph), with visibility at a quarter of a mile (400 meters), the National Weather Service said.
LaGuardia, known for its close proximity to Flushing Bay, which swamped the berm during Superstorm Sandy and flooded its two runways, is one of the most congested airports in the United States. It's also one of the most difficult ones at which to land: Its close proximity to three other busy airports means pilots have to make a series of tight turns to line up with its runways while also going through their normal landing checklists.
The Delta flight was landing on LaGuardia's main runway, which is about 7,000 feet (2,100 meters) long and 150 feet wide. On the right side of the runway are a taxiway and terminals. On the left, where the plane ended up, are the berm and the bay.
LaGuardia's runways are "reasonably short" but still safe, said former US Airways pilot John M. Cox, who's now CEO of consultancy Safety Operating Systems.
At airports with longer runways, pilots will glide a few feet above the runway and gently touch down. At LaGuardia, Cox said, "you put the airplane on the ground and stop it."
The runway had been plowed just minutes before the Delta landing, and two other pilots had reported good braking conditions shortly before, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the region's main airports and other transit hubs.
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