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An aircraft from Toronto slid into snow as it turned onto a taxiway after landing at New York’s JFK airport yesterday as a winter storm continued to grip parts of the US and Canada.
No-one was hurt in the incident involving a Delta Connection aircraft carrying 35 passengers but all flights at the airport were suspended for two hours because of icy runways.
A “polar vortex” has blanketed areas of Canada and the north-eastern US with up to 2ft of snow.
It has been blamed for 16 deaths and the cancellation of more than 3,700 flights over the weekend.
At least 1,200 flights were cancelled across the country on Saturday, with more than 2,500 cancellations nationwide by the middle of Sunday, almost half of those in Chicago.
A departure from New York by Queen Mary 2 was delayed on Saturday due to by heavy snowfalls sweeping the state.
Cunard said it was confident the ship would still arrive in Southampton on time on January 10.
The US weather service said “an incredibly strong surge of bitterly cold Arctic air” was sweeping across the country until Tuesday.
Forecasters say temperatures in the north and central US could feel as low as -51°C with the effect of wind chill, the BBC reported.
Authorities have warned residents to remain indoors, both for their own safety and to keep roads clear for snow removal.
The states of Ohio, South Dakota and Illinois are among those set to be hit. Tennessee and Kentucky are forecast to see several inches of snow.
It is set to continue to the northeast, where residents are still digging out from last week’s deadly snowstorm.
Heavy snow has affected New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Boston was said to be the worst hit with nearly 18 inches of snow.