Passenger Believes Pilot’s Final Actions Averted Greater Tragedy in Fatal LaGuardia Runway Collision

“I wouldn’t be here had it not been for the pilot acting quickly,” Rebecca Liquori said, noting she “heard the pilot try to brake”

More passengers are speaking out following the devastating collision at LaGuardia Airport, which left more than 40 people injured, and two pilots dead, saying one pilot’s actions in the final moments helped prevent an even greater loss of life.

Rebecca Liquori, 35, had been seated in an exit row on Air Canada Express Flight 8646, a regional jet traveling from Montreal to LaGuardia Airport on Sunday, March 22.

The flight had been delayed and she was dozing as the plane began its descent, she told NBC News.

“As we were descending, we hit a lot of turbulence,” Liquori, of North Baldwin, N.Y., told News 12. “Then we landed very roughly … Everyone felt it. It was like the plane jolted and you heard the pilot try to brake, trying to prevent the collision.”

Damaged front section of an Air Canada aircraft severe structural damage visible.Sean Duffy/X

Seconds later, she said, came the impact: “Everybody jolted out of their seats.”

The CRJ-900 aircraft, operated by Jazz Aviation on behalf of Air Canada, collided with a firetruck on runway four at approximately 11:40 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to LaGuardia Airport officials.

The emergency vehicle had been crossing the runway in response to a separate incident.

The crash killed both the captain and the co-pilot and left the cockpit destroyed. There were 72 passengers and four crew members on board.

In an interview with NBC after the crash, Liquori said she believes the pilots’ actions in those final moments made the difference.

“I’m just so appreciative that they were able to save us, but I’m just so sad that they weren’t able to make it home to their families,” she said. “I wouldn’t be here had it not been for the pilot acting quickly.”

Emergency responders and vehicles next to a damaged Air Canada airplane on a runway.Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty

An outside expert said the extent of the damage points to how close the crash came to being even more devastating.

“The photos are dramatic,” Anthony Brickhouse, a U.S.-based aviation safety expert, said in an interview with PEOPLE. “And they literally speak to how fast that aircraft was going and how much energy it had when it impacted the firetruck.”

Even so, he said, the number of survivors is notable given the force of the collision.

“It’s sad that we had two fatalities, the captain and the first officer, but looking at those pictures, it’s miraculous that we didn’t have more,” Brickhouse said, adding that the pilots “did the best they could” given the circumstances.