In October 1996, Delta Air Lines Flight 554 , a McDonnell Douglas MD-88, was on final approach to Runway 13 at LaGuardia.The weather was miserable — rain, fog, and the low-contrast shimmer of an over-water approach. Moments before landing, the jet clipped the approach lights, struck the runway deck, and came to rest battered but intact.Miraculously, there were no fatalities. The investigation uncovered something extraordinary — this wasn’t about mechanical failure or instrume