נס חנוכה הצלת מרן הגה"ק בעל ברך משה מסאטמאר זי"ע תשנ"ו

disaster at Kennedy Airport. A tower 747 jumbo jet with more than 400 people on board skids off the runway in a snowstorm after its nose gear collapses. Fortunately, no one is seriously hurt. Good evening everyone. I'm Michelle Marsh >> and I'm John Johnson. Flight 41 from New York to Miami ended in terror without even getting off the ground. The pilot aborted takeoff on runway 4L and the plane slid across the tarmac. Passengers were evacuated. The airport was shut down. We begin our team coverage with channel 2's Jennifer Mcllo. Good. >> John, moments ago, the National Transportation Board gave a possible version of what went wrong and caused this accident. Soft ground, ice, debris on the runway, and packed snow. And actually, at takeoff, the engine hit a 3ft concrete structure, causing the plane to skid out of control. behind us, runway 4L, where you can still see tower air surrounded by emergency crews, the damaged aircraft, and the is still falling. In this white haze, a slew of unanswered questions. It was just after 10:30 when Tower Air flight 41 bound for Miami was deiced and taxied toward the runway. Snow continued to fall. Planes were delayed. It wasn't until approximately 11:40, more than an hour later, the 747 jumbo jet filled with 441 passengers, was cleared for takeoff. Those on board say it lifted slightly and came crashing down. >> The front end dive down and scraping so that the whole plane is rattling back and forth. All of the upper compartments opened up with all the stuff piling out and >> Yeah, cuz we can see the firemen. They are putting the foam on the right side of the wing. A 747 plane 500 ft west of its runway. Its right and fourth engine on the ground 500 ft behind the aircraft. The front landing gear and nose collapsed. Right landing gear collapsed. Right. Right landing gear. >> Yeah. Right collapsed on takeoff which I believe uh made the uh number one engine hit the pavement tear off which made him lose his balance and head off this way. Peter Johnson was the first officer on the scene. How would you describe the state of the passengers? >> Uh the flight crew had everybody still in their seats. Um there was no uh there was no panic on board the aircraft at all when we got on board. >> It is now the job of the NTSB to detect >> with the port authority. Uh we are being told that u a sheet of ice had caused the aircraft to skidd the runway on takeoff and it was impossible for the captain uh to control the takeoff and continue with it. >> I think the runway should have been closed. Yes, >> the runways were all snow covered and I think that certainly puts passengers in jeopardy, their lives in jeopardy. We're just very lucky that we're alive. Among the prayerful Mosha Tidalbong, his spokesman conveyed his feelings. >> Thank God for what for the way it ended and he thinks that the airline and the pilots did a great job and he thanks God that everybody is out without any major injuries. >> The airport has now reopened tonight. The airline is offering assistance medical and otherwise to all passengers. Tower Aircraft has brought out another plane to get them safely to Miami. Not a heck of a lot of takers. Some are saying they'll take a train down south. Others saying they don't know when or if they'll feel like flying again. Correspondent Lou Young joins us now with this accident's effects on Kennedy Airport at this busy season. >> Indeed, Jennifer. And they say the airport is reopened, but we have seen no aircraft activity here. And if and when planes do begin to leave and arrive here, they will be very, very far behind. some of these uh delays will not be caught up anytime soon. Holiday travel in this weather is always a problem. Uh now tonight, tens of thousands of travelers have this additional uh problem to add to >> when it started to skid, veering off to the left, coming to arrest here, the nose gear collapsing. >> It appears when we first arrived here that the uh on takeoff, the right landing gear collapsed, which uh made the number one engine hit the uh runway and break away. the left wing gear began to exit the runway and enter the snow and from there on uh the aircraft uh was off the runway. The plane skidded to a stop 500 ft west of the runway. The 747 has four engines, one of them snapping off and landing to the rear of the plane. The airport's emergency response plan kicked in, sending police, fire, and ambulance personnel scrambling to the scene to whisk passengers into the Tower Air Terminal. The president of Tower Airlines blamed the weather. >> My belief is that the aircraft was fine >> until >> until it skidded off the off the runway >> by a sheet of ice. >> That's exactly right. >> Port Authority officials say the runways had been properly cleared and an aircraft had taken off from that runway just minutes before. Runways have been salted and sanded and uh plowed in accordance with all the uh federal aviation standards. >> We're certainly looking at the weather conditions. They were not uh >> determined to say this was a holiday miracle and perhaps the rebby had a part in it. >> Though it's still very early to say snow and cold may have played a role. 7 in of snow fell here at JFK since yesterday morning. It was still falling when flight 41 made its takeoff around 11:30 for Miami and the runway was icy. >> We are the one that don't decide whether we fly or not. airport authority clears the airport for us to depart and if they tell us that we can depart then we have to believe that that is safe and we believe we depart. We departed today with other flights without any incident and we expect that when the airport tells us that the airport is open that we will depart without incident. >> And believe it or not, despite all they've been through many of those passengers on board the original flight 41 say they're determined to get to Miami. So the airline has arranged the plane for them. It's due to leave at 5:00. is preparing to leave in fact right now. All those here though agree that this truly was a holiday miracle. It sure could have been a lot worse. I'm Unicorn live at JFK. Back to youinal where the reality of their ordeal sunk in with waves of tears. This woman watched the floor tear away from under her ladders. There were a bunch of ladders and stuff coming out of the ground and there was a hole in the in the floor. >> That's your feet? >> Yeah, my feet were on top of it. >> What do you think about what you went through? I'm never ever flying again. >> It was like really really bumpy and um it like it was shaking underneath us. It was really vibrating and then all of a sudden we just went down. >> Yeah, definitely. >> Some are oblivious, others angry. >> Who is responsible for this? To let people 500 passengers get in an airplane and let them take off. It is incredible to me that someone can't be held accountable for this. Considering all they've been through, it may sound hard to imagine, but most of these passengers say they're going to get right back on a plane and continue with their holiday travels. The Grand Revy of the Sapmar sack, Moses Titlebomb, was uninjured, but will not be joining them. This 5-year-old came away with the story of a lifetime. >> What are you going to tell your friends about all this? >> That it was really cool. >> That it was cool. >> Yeah. >> Maybe scary, too. >> Yeah. It didn't bother you, right? >> No. >> Tower Air is planning another flight to Miami for those passengers. It is scheduled to leave at 5 and there is now one uh airirstrip open here at Kennedy. A number of people told me they hope to one day meet and thank the pilot who did such a good job. We're live at Kennedy Airport. Celeste Ford, Channel 7 Eyewitness News. Thank you, Celeste. This Nick Gregory is right here plotting the trouble we face now that snow and ice take their toll at Kennedy Airport as a 747 carrying almost 450 people skids off the runway following an aborted takeoff. The accident shuts down JFK, creating havoc for holiday travelers. >> Well, the snow may be easing up for now, but believe it or not, >> don't give everybody a hard time. All right, >> don't give everybody a hard time. Relax. Listen to her. >> All right. >> I understand. >> But the people in the crippled aircraft leave the plane safely. The accident closes the airport for 4 hours. Good evening everyone. I'm Jim Watkins. Chucks off. Tonight, ice is still causing problems at the airports. >> But is that what caused the terrifying skid of a Tower Air 747? More than 400 passengers got the scare of their lives when the pilot of a plane had to abort the takeoff. People on board screamed in horror as the jumbo jet >> reported takeoff. Good evening, I'm Bill Butel. Diana Williams is off tonight and Ros Abrams joins me. The weather played havoc at all three of our airports today. Kennedy Airport is open once again tonight, but tower Airflight 41 is still crippled on the ground after skidding off the runway and collapsing on its broken nose gear. Hundreds of people were on board, dozens were injured. The airport was shut down for more than four hours. The weather left a different kind of way. No emergency slides were needed. It was orderly and calm and there were no serious injuries. Although passengers tell two News it was one scary little ride. The front end dive down and scraping so that the whole plane is rattling back and forth. All of the upper compartments opened up with all the stuff piling out and screaming and yelling and people were very scared. For the first few seconds I thought we were going to die. The nose of the plane was was broken on the ground. The wheels collapsed. One engine fell off. The engine was sitting on the drive on the runway. Among the grateful passengers, the Grand Rebby of the Hacidic Satmar sect moist title bomb. A spokesman says he's fine. When we got a close look at the 23-year-old aircraft, finally we found it in soft snow covered ground near the runway. Its nose gear pushed up into the fuselage. The right landing gear was twisted and broken. One of the engines had been ripped from the right wing when the skinning plane collided with a concrete barrier. The pilot apparently aborted the takeoff, possibly after hitting some ice on the runway. Federal investigators say all the damage occurred from the aircraft bouncing along the ground. As for the airport, it was closed for 4 and 1/2 hours. 270 flights were delayed, canceled, or diverted. And late and it was pretty clear why. My belief is that the aircraft was fine >> until it >> until it skidded off the off the runway >> by a sheet of ice. That's exactly right. >> The left landing gear hit some uneven terrain and crumble. >> It appears when we first arrived here that the uh on takeoff, the right landing gear collapse, >> which uh made the number one engine hit the uh runway and break away. >> Home video taken inside the plane shows oxygen masks had dropped and things were a bit out of place. Emergency crews scrambled to the jet. There was no fire, but about two dozen passengers sustained bumps and bruises and removed on stretchers taken to area hospitals. Others were whisked away to the terminal. The NTSB is in. >> These are bumps, bruises. Some people were immobilized. We did have a report of one patient with chest pains. One passenger from Long Island turned on his home video camera soon after the plane came to a stop, capturing some tense moments among other passengers and crew. >> Relax. Don't give everybody a hard time. >> All right. >> Don't give everybody a hard time. Relax. >> Runway four left. Runway four left still closed tonight. and the tower air jet will most likely stay where it is until morning when the NTSB is expected to clear this scene. But again, this accident caused major delays, not just here, but at Newark and LaGuardia as well. Reporting live at JFK, I'm Rick Cleventhal, News Channel 4. Jim, back to you to say about this tomorrow, particularly after talking to the pilots. Reporting live at JFK, I'm David Usher, Channel 7 Eyewitness News, >> David, >> Channel 4's Tiwa Chang has more. It veered. It veered to the right. >> News Channel 4 brought a videotape of the crash seen to Ira Ferman, a former investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. Furman has investigated some of the worst airplane crashes in US history. He believes this crash might have been a disaster if the nose gear had not collapsed. based on passenger statements to reporters that the nose of the tower airplane 747 jumbo jet had lifted up before the pilot aborted the takeoff. Ferman believes that the tower jet and its 441 passengers were going so fast only the collapse of the nose gear dragged and slowed the plane down enough for it to avoid hitting was at the end of the runway at Kennedy Airport. There are obstacles at the end of that runway. And once you stop an airplane much more abruptly by hitting obstacles, you have all kinds of risks of injury on board, possibility additionally of fire. >> With the plane crashes in New York airports during the snowstorms of 89, 92, 94, and now this latest crash, how dangerous is it to fly out of New York City airports in snowstorms? Herman says enough so that he wouldn't fly. If it was snowing heavily, uh, I would not want to fly out of LaGuardia Airport, uh, because the runways are too short. That's that's clear. I would have a lot more confidence about flying out of an airport such as Kennedy >> where they had the accident today. >> Where they had the accident today, but we don't know that that accident really relates to snow. That accident may well have occurred because of a pilot's miscalculation. May have occurred for a myriad number of reasons. Furman believes that during a snowstorm, New York airports don't do well for several reasons. Because there are so many planes waiting to take off. Snow cleaned off of wings is back on before takeoff. Ice on runways is dangerous for landing and LaGuardia's runway says Ferman is too short even in normal weather since it was built for planes and not jets. Tiwa Chang, News Channel 4. Well, the Port Authority disagrees with our expert. A spokesperson says JFK is the airport of choice for planes in distress because of the length of its runways and the response time of emergency crews. >> Talk about winging it. The aborted takeoff, snow, ice could not have come at a worse time for holiday travelers. A tearful little child expresses the frustration of thousands of stranded travelers at Kennedy. Hundreds of flights were cancelled for people trying to get away for the holidays or begin their winter vacation. We were supposed to leave at 10:45 and now they're saying between 5:00 and 8 hopefully. How long have you been waiting then? >> Like 4 hours. 5 hours just waiting. >> How you feel? >> Tired and sleepy. >> And there was confusion at the Tower Air Terminal where word of the accident spread and passengers worried whether they'd get home for Christmas. And as snow piled up outside Newark airport, the crowds piled into the terminals. Newark had to carry some of the load from Kennedy.