An Air Canada flight attendant survived after being hurled nearly 330 feet from a plane that crashed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday, remaining strapped to her jump seat despite the impact.

Solange Tremblay, the lead flight attendant, sustained multiple fractures in one leg and is set to undergo surgery, her daughter Sarah Lepine told Canadian broadcaster TVA Nouvelles.

“She was still strapped to her seat” when first responders reached her, Lepine said after speaking with her mother.

Calling her survival extraordinary, Lepine added, "She definitely has a guardian angel watching over her."

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Collision during landing turns fatal

The Air Canada Express CRJ-900, flying in from Montreal with 72 passengers and four crew members, struck a fire truck while landing shortly before midnight. The crash claimed the lives of both pilots and left several others injured.

The fire truck had been allowed onto the runway to inspect another aircraft that had aborted takeoff after reporting a “strange odour”. Video footage shows the jet colliding with the vehicle as it crossed the runway, sending both skidding along the tarmac.

Air traffic control audio captures a controller warning of the vehicle’s presence before urgently saying, "Stop, stop, stop, truck 1 stop, truck 1, stop."

Roughly 20 minutes later, the same controller appeared to acknowledge an error, saying, "We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up."

Passengers recount terrifying moments

Passengers described scenes of chaos inside the cabin just before and after impact. Rebecca Liquori said the aircraft encountered turbulence during descent, followed by a sudden jolt and a loud crash.

"Everybody just jolted out of their seats. People hit their heads. People were bleeding," she said.

Liquori said passengers worked together to evacuate, using a wing as an exit route.

"I'm just happy to be alive," she said, recalling the short journey from Montreal.

"I would have never pictured a one-hour flight that I've done countless times ... ending like this," she added.

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Pilots identified amid wider concerns

The deceased pilots have been identified as Antoine Forest and MacKenzie Gunther, both early in their careers and based in Canada.

Jeannette Gagnier, Forest’s great aunt, said he had long aspired to become a pilot. Officials termed the incident a tragic loss.

The accident comes at a time when the US aviation sector is grappling with shortages of air traffic controllers and security staff, which has been affecting airport operations.