QUEENS: Power Plant Explosion & Airport Blackout

ASTORIA, Queens – On Thursday evening, at around 9:30 PM, December 27, 2018, several transformers tripped offline and caused a fire, which resulted in the electrical arching at the main ConEdison facility on 20th Avenue in the Astoria section of Queens. The resulting severe arching, which lit the night sky with brilliant blue light. The explosion caused major power outages at all four passenger terminals at nearby LaGuardia Airport, which disrupted flight operations. The New York City House of Detention on Riker’s Island also lost power and was forced to rely on generators to provide emergency power | Video Journalist: Christopher Cyphers