Hero Nurse Who Survived LaGuardia Plane Crash Details Collision, Aftermath

Rebecca Liquori -- a surviving passenger on the Air Canada plane that collided with a fire truck on the runway at LaGuardia Airport this week -- can't get the sound of people screaming out of her head ... as she focuses on healing from the near-death experience.

TMZ caught up with Rebecca Thursday, just days after the pilots of her plane were killed in the crash ... and she walked us through her thoughts, from the moment the plane came to a crashing halt, to the moment she deboarded to discover its entire front had been torn off.

Watch the clip ... she tells us it was chaos when the plane hit the truck -- passengers were screaming and they had no instructions from the crew -- one of whom was ejected, landing on the tarmac.

Rebecca is a nurse, and her instincts quickly took over as she opened the emergency door and helped fellow passengers out. She notes despite the panic, passengers came together with a "herd mentality" to help everyone exit the aircraft safely.

Reflecting on the days since, Rebecca tells us she didn't sleep a wink for the first 24 hours ... and is stuck replaying the "boom" of the crash and the cries of terrified passengers in her head. She tells TMZ she is seeking therapy for her trauma ... noting she is bonded with her fellow passengers for life.

She also tells us her thoughts about suing Air Canada ... and praises the pilots for doing all they could to protect passengers before their lives ended in an instant -- watch the full clip to hear it all.

We told you about the heartbreaking accident -- the Air Canada Express regional jet collided with a Port Authority fire truck while landing in New York after departing Montreal, Canada Sunday night. There were 72 passengers and 4 crew members on board -- and 41 of them were injured, with 9 of the injuries being described as serious at the time.