Plane that landed at NYC airport gets stuck in snowdrift

NEW YORK (AP) - A plane from Chicago that landed at LaGuardia Airport on Saturday got stuck in a snowdrift while turning off the runway and had to be pulled out by a tug.

The pilot of the Republic Airline flight operating under Delta was trying to leave the runway in order to taxi to the gate when the plane got stuck. The delay took about an hour.

There were 73 passengers on board and no one was injured, and there was no damage to the Embraer 175 regional jet, said Steve Coleman, spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.

Operations at the airport, which is undergoing a massive renovation, weren't affected, Coleman said. The plane did not skid off the runway.

The New York area was hit by a snowstorm earlier this week that dumped nearly 6 inches of snow at the airport.

A spokeswoman for Delta said the ground crew quickly assisted in clearing the snow, and the aircraft then taxied to the gate on its own.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.