Survivors of the crash of an Avianca flight from Bogota to New York on January 25, 1990, gathered in New York Monday for a remembrance ceremony.
Victims of the crash, and the rescue staff who helped them from the wreckage, attended a service at a Catholic church in New York state on the 20th anniversary of the disaster.
One survivor, Jessica Vasquez, was only two years old when she was caught in the disaster. She attended the memorial service and met the man who rescued her from the debris.
“It’s good to see all the people,” the 22-year-old told NY Daily News.
The plane crashed into Long Island, killing 73 of its 158 passengers, after being kept in a holding pattern at John F. Kennedy airport in New York state for over 90 minutes and running out of fuel.
The flight, run by Colombia’s national airline, had left Bogota earlier that day, stopping in Medellin to collect fuel and passengers.
Human error was blamed for the crash, as air traffic controllers said that the pilots had not made it clear that they were running dangerously low on fuel.