Inches from disaster, New York jet that almost skidded into freezing sea

THIS is the dramatic moment a plane skidded off a runway almost plunging into an icy bay.

The Delta Airlines plane, at LaGuardia Airport in New York, slid off the tarmac, breaking through a fence before it ground to a halt with its nose hanging precariously over the water.

The picture below shows just how close Delta Flight 1086 came to sliding into Flushing Bay as it arrived from Atlanta.

All 125 passengers were evacu- ated from the aircraft on slides and the airport, surrounded by snow and freezing fog, was closed. An accident at the airport on takeoff in March 1992 saw USAir Flight 405 in Flushing Bay, claiming 27 lives.