( CNN ) A runway at New York 's LaGuardia Airport reopened Friday morning , a day after a Delta Air Lines plane skidded off it before halting near the icy waters of Flushing Bay . Runway 13 remained closed until the plane could be removed and brought into a hangar . It reopened at 10:30 a.m . ET Friday , according to Ron Marsico , a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey . The Delta plane slid off the runway Thursday morning , with its nose busting through a fence before skidding to a halt mere feet from frigid waters . Delta Flight 1086 briefly circled New York due to issues with snow and ice before touching down shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday , passenger Jared Faellaci told CNN . Almost as soon as it did , those aboard realized something was wrong -- the aircraft 's wheels seemed to have little to no traction , sliding for about 20 seconds . `` You did n't feel the wheels take , '' Faellaci said . Then it was a matter of `` where we are going to end up , '' he said . About 4,500 to 5,000 feet down Runway 13 , the MD-88 veered to the left and mercifully stopped on a small embankment . A little farther , and the plane -- with 127 passengers and five crew members -- would have been in Flushing Bay rather than on the airport 's snow-covered ground . Contrary to what Delta said in a statement , the aircraft 's slides did not deploy , according to Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye . Still , with help from first responders , everyone was able to get off and onto buses that took them to LaGuardia 's Delta terminal . Video showed passengers exiting the plane into the subfreezing temperatures as emergency vehicles converged on the area . Twenty-four people suffered injuries that were non-life threatening . Three of those were transported to nearby hospitals , the New York City Fire Department tweeted . Faellaci said he was thankful for the plane 's crew , first responders and God that it was n't much worse . `` It was cause for a moment of prayer and a moment of reflection , as people were scared , '' he said . `` The pilot did a phenomenal job . '' The plane left a relatively balmy Atlanta shortly after 9 a.m. LaGuardia was dealing with snow and freezing fog as the flight approached its destination about two hours later . Before touching down , the plane 's pilot said weather problems could cause a delay . Still , little prepared passengers for what happened . Faellaci said he was reminded of the U.S. Airways plane that landed in the Hudson River in 2009 . All 155 people aboard that flight -- heading from LaGuardia to Charlotte , North Carolina -- famously survived thanks to the skills of pilot Chesley `` Sully '' Sullenberger . The landing of Delta Flight 1086 was terrifying for many . `` There were people that were calm , there were people that were praying , there were people that obviously were frantic , there were people that were crying , '' Faellaci said . Jihad Lateef , another passenger , was traveling with his brother . `` When the plane landed it was like me falling off of the top bunk -- did n't really know what was going on -- I just felt a hit , boom , '' he told CNN 's `` Erin Burnett OutFront . '' `` I just prayed . '' The Port Authority chief said plows had cleared the runway minutes before Flight 1086 touched down and that two other landing pilots had reported `` good braking '' action on Runway 13 . Still , that does n't mean the pilot did anything wrong . `` I think the pilot did everything he could to slow the aircraft down , '' Foye said . `` Obviously , the pilot and the co-pilot 's efforts were reflected in the fact there were only minor injuries . '' After the plane stopped , emotions ratcheted down some but not entirely . Faellaci said there was some `` panic and shoving your way to the front '' to get off , though `` for the most part it was very orderly . '' Passengers spent a few minutes standing in the snow -- carrying little more than their wallets and phones -- before buses took them into the warmth and comfort of the terminal . Four minutes after the plane landed , all of LaGuardia Airport shut down to air traffic . One of its two runways -- the one not involved in the incident -- reopened a few hours later . CNN 's Shimon Prokupecz contributed to this report .
LaGuardia Airport 's Runway 13 reopens after plane removed . Passenger : Airplane skidded for about 20 seconds before stopping feet from water . Comment: