A powerful winter storm blamed for 15 deaths in other parts of the US is bringing rain to southern New England and snow further north, but the region has been largely spared the pounding that other states took.

Stranded passengers turned airports into open-air hotels as they waited for planes to get moving again in the wake of a blizzard that hit travel plans in the north-east of the United States.

Blizzard conditions have marooned thousands of air, rail and road travellers on the US East Coast, shutting down airports and rail lines for a second day, stranding buses on buried roads and forcing New York subway commuters to spend a cold night in unheated trains.

Blizzard conditions dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of the US north east, stranding thousands of airline, bus and rail passengers, with lashing winds and low visibility also buffeting workers returning to their post-Christmas routines.

THE pilot of US Airways Flight 1549, which ditched into New York’s Hudson River last month, calmly radioed to air traffic controllers: “We’re going to be in the Hudson.”

A black box recording of the moments leading up to the crash of a passenger jet in a New York river has revealed the pilot calmly announced “we are gonna be in the Hudson” before downing the plane in the icy waters.

Salvage crews have hoisted a US Airways jetliner from the Hudson River and onto a barge days after its pilot made a split-second decision to attempt a water landing to avoid a “catastrophic” crash over populated areas.

At least 14 people died today as a treacherous mixture of rain, sleet and snow blanketed America’s north-east.

US airports and public transport systems are tightening security today following the terrorist incidents in Britain.

A foiled plot to blow up a jet fuel pipeline under John F Kennedy International Airport drew attention to what counter-terrorism experts have warned could be a key target.

ROAD crews scrambled to clear highways for commuters yesterday and thousands of travellers stranded at airports still waited to get home as the north-eastern states dug out from a record-breaking storm that dumped 60cm or more of snow.

A Turkish Airlines flight skidded off a runway at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport early today, after a record-breaking storm buried sections of north-eastern America under more than two feet of snow.

HUNDREDS of transatlantic airline passengers faced delays and cancellations over the weekend as snowstorms swept across large areas of the US.

The biggest power cut in American history rolled across a vast swath of the northern United States and southern Canada yesterday, driving millions of people outdoors into stifling rush hour streets – then darkness.

Major delays are expected on flights in and out of New York for most of today as the biggest power cut in US history brought flights to a halt at JFK and LaGuardia airports.

Amy Westfeldt, New York

THERE is certainly something biblical, if not apocalyptic, about the current global extremes of fire and ice.

A man carrying a false pilot's identification has been arrested at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport.