(LEX 18) — What began as a fun, educational trip for a group of Woodford County High School students ended in chaos as 20 students were left stranded at LaGuardia Airport after a deadly crash earlier this week.
The students had been invited to perform alongside the UK's Men's Choir at Carnegie Hall as part of the Festival Octavo Series through Manhattan Concert Productions.
"Some of them had never been to New York before so it was a wonderful opportunity for them and some had never been on a plane before so to get to experience that was amazing," said parent and chaperone Susan Strange.
However, hours after the applause faded, the group were caught in the middle of the aftermath of the collision between an Air Canda Express plane and a fire truck on the runway.
"...we were keeping an eye on things and it seemed like we were okay, our flight was still showing, everything was fine," Strange said. "But because of the TSA issues and that we decided to get to the airport earlier."
According to Strange, the group was slated to fly out at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, but instead, their flight kept getting delayed. Strange's airline app showed the airport was closed as part of an investigation into the Sunday collision.
What stung most for the group, however, is that a flight bound for Lexington with 20 open seats left without them because of a ticketing technicality with the group's fare class.
"We were stranded at the airport, they refused to get us lodging, I had to call hotels and find enough empty rooms but then on top of that, we couldn't get to the hotels because they didn't have shuttles," Strange said. "And we couldn't taxi the kids because there's too many kids and not enough chaperones."
Now, the group is finally headed home, to Strange's relief.
"It's terrifying when you're in charge of someone else's child and you're just trying to make sure that they're safe and on top of that, some of these kids have never been on a plane before," she said. "And they've never been out of state, or away from their parents, so we're also trying to quell some anxieties."
