Passengers describe surviving LaGuardia collision: "I'm a walking miracle"
Rebecca Liquori and Rachel Mariotti worked together to remove the exit door and help passengers off the plane after the deadly collision at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
March 26, 2026 / 12:32 PM EDT / CBS News
Two Air Canada passengers who survived the deadly plane-fire rescue truck collision at New York's LaGuardia Airport described in an exclusive interview with "CBS Mornings" on Thursday the moment of impact and how they helped other passengers escape the plane.
Rebecca Liquori recalled getting "very nervous" when they experienced turbulence while their plane was descending Sunday night.
"I grabbed her arm, and we were strangers," Liquori said of Rachel Mariotti, who was sitting next to her on the plane. "I just turned to her and I said, 'I'm sorry, I'm just really scared.'"
Liquori said Mariotti admitted she was as well and the two comforted each other.
"The impact of the firetruck ... we didn't know what was going on. We all flung forward," Mariotti said. "We were holding on to each other. I was looking out the window … flying forward, looking out the window, are we going to spin out of control? It was scary."