Pilot, co-pilot killed after plane hits ground vehicle at New York’s LaGuardia Airport
Updated ,first published
new York: The pilot and co-pilot of an Air Canada Express regional jet with 76 people on board died when it collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia airport late Sunday (New York time), authorities and US media said.
Kathryn Garcia, general manager of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said the Air Canada Express CRJ-900 aircraft, operated by regional partner Jazz Aviation, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members from Montreal, Canada. Jazz is owned by Chorus Aviation.
Flight AC8646 took off from Montreal and landed at LaGuardia at 11:37 p.m. New York time, according to aviation tracker Flight Radar 24. The plane was traveling at approximately 39 km/h and hit a fire truck that was crossing the runway to respond to another incident on a United Airlines flight.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said 32 of the 41 people injured on the Air Canada jet have been released, while nine remain hospitalized with serious injuries.
Minutes before the crash, air traffic control (ATC) audio from LiveATC.net showed that the United Airlines flight declared an emergency due to an odor on the plane. Controllers notified the crew that fire trucks were in the area.
A second transmission later indicates that a fire truck was allowed to pass on taxiway “Delta”, the fourth runway where the collision occurred.
Moments later, according to ATC audio, a controller can be heard saying: “Stop, stop, stop, truck one stop, truck one, stop.”
Two Port Authority employees traveling in the fire truck suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
The airport would remain closed until at least 2 p.m. (New York time) on Monday to facilitate an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Flightradar24 said 18 flights were mostly diverted to other airports in the New York area or returned to their point of origin.
Photos and videos from the scene showed significant damage to the front of the plane, with cables and debris dangling from the crushed cockpit. A damaged emergency vehicle was lying on its side nearby.
Stairs used to evacuate passengers from the plane were pushed up to emergency exits on the jet, which was left with its crumpled nose tilted upwards.
At a news conference, Garcia said the pilot and co-pilot were located outside Canada.
While two unnamed passengers told the local media about the shock of the accident on the late night flight, one of them said that his friend’s nose was broken and the passengers hit their heads on the seats in front of them.
According to CNN, LaGuardia warned in advance that flights could be disrupted due to weather conditions, with light rain and fog in the area.
Air Canada said it was aware of the incident, referring Reuters to Jazz’s statement. The NTSB and the FAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The incident continues a series of crashes that have made the past year one of the deadliest civil aviation accidents of the last decade.
