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Authorities also warned travelers to brace for major disruption around the airport. The New York City Fire Department told the public to expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays, and a heavy emergency presence near LaGuardia.

The chaos on the ground left stranded travelers trying to make sense of what had happened. In another BBC report, 26-year-old Katie Rojas said her flight to Chicago was already on the runway and prepared to depart when all planes were grounded.

“It tried taking off twice and both times literally stopped in its tracks,” she said, explaining that after two and a half hours on board, passengers were told they had to evacuate. She added, “They said there was a smell coming from the plane. I don’t know if that was just something they were saying.”

After returning to the terminal, Rojas said she saw emergency vehicles everywhere and only later learned about the crash online. She was first rebooked for a 7:00 a.m. flight that was also canceled, then placed on a 3:20 p.m. departure, but said security was closed and she had no way to check her bags.

By that point, she had been waiting at the airport for 12 hours, hoping to finally get home. Reflecting on the crash, she said, “It’s scary. You never know if it could have been one of us.”