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Passengers on the Air Canada flight that crashed with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport have described the “chaos” as the aircraft veered out of control on the runway — while suggesting the pilots who died may have saved countless other lives.

“It was a regular flight like always,” passenger Jack Cabot told Fox News of the jet that landed from Montreal just before 11:40 p.m. Sunday.

“As we were arriving, we came down really hard. We stopped really quickly, 2 seconds later, we had an absolute slam,” he recalled of the crash that left the front of the jet obliterated.

Both pilots were killed, and 41 people were hospitalized in the horrific crash, which forced the closure of the Queens airport for part of Monday.

“Everybody was flying everywhere. The plane veering off left and right. It was chaos. It didn’t feel like there was anybody controlling it,” Cabot said.


  Passenger Jack Cabot described the “chaos” onboard the regional inbound flight from Montreal. Fox News Passenger Jack Cabot described the “chaos” onboard the regional inbound flight from Montreal. Fox News

  The pilots who died may have saved countless other lives. REUTERS The pilots who died may have saved countless other lives. REUTERS

But another passenger described how it appeared that the pilots had put the aircraft into reverse thrust at the last second, which may have saved the lives of those on board.

Latest coverage on the deadly Air Canada crash at LaGuardia Airport

“We had just touched down, and maybe about 30 seconds later we all felt a jolt forward, then a loud bang, and what felt like sliding sideways down the runway,” passenger Brady Sego wrote on Reddit.

“Someone did say the pilot tried to reverse thrust at the last second. Honestly, they likely saved our lives. I wish I could tell their families how thankful I am.


  Debris hangs from the damaged Air Canada Express jet after the collision. REUTERS Debris hangs from the damaged Air Canada Express jet after the collision. REUTERS

“They are heroes,” he said.

Another passenger, Rebecca Liquori, 35, a nurse from Long Island, also said it appeared as if the pilots tried their best to the end.

“As we were descending, we hit a lot of turbulence,” she told local 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.”

One of dead pilots was identified as a 30-year-old Quebec native, Antoine Forest, who fell in love with flying at age 16, stricken kin said.

“These were two young men at the start of their careers, so it’s an absolute tragedy that we’re sitting here with their loss,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said at an afternoon press conference of the late pilots.

Chilling air traffic control tower audio captured the moments leading up to and after the crash, with one controller saying he “messed up.”

Haunting pictures taken Monday morning show the plane’s cockpit completely destroyed as daylight rises over the runway of the major travel hub.

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