In 1957 , Northeast Airlines Flight 823 crashed onto Rikers Island shortly after departing LaGuardia Airport , killing 20 and injuring 78 out of a total of 95 passengers and 6 crew . After the crash , department personnel and inmates ran to the site to help survivors . As a result of their actions , of the 57 inmates who assisted with the rescue effort , 30 were released and 16 received a sentence reduction of six months by the N.Y.C. Parole Board . Governor Averell Harriman also granted commutation of sentence to 11 men serving definite sentences : two received a six-months ' reduction ; one workhouse and eight penitentiary definites became eligible for immediate release
Northeast Airlines Flight 823
Northeast Airlines Flight 823
Rikers Island