Horrific moment Air Canada plane strikes fire truck crossing LaGuardia Airport runway as it came into land, killing both pilots
Horrific footage has revealed the moment an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck as it crossed the runway at LaGuardia Airport.
CCTV footage of the runway shows the Air Canada Bombardier CRJ-900 plane landing around 11.30pm on Sunday night, and a fire truck blocking its path on the tarmac at the same time.
The plane was traveling at around 150 mph when it crashed into the fire truck during heavy rainfall, and footage showed an explosion and large splashes of water as the impact caused the truck to flip across the runway.
The pilot and co-pilot of the Air Canada plane died in the accident, and 41 people, including the two people in the fire truck, were hospitalized.
Footage of the crash came as audio from air traffic control revealed workers pleading for “stop, stop, stop” seconds before the fire truck crashed into the jet.
The fire truck had been given permission to cross the runway to deal with an unrelated problem on a separate plane, but air traffic controllers appeared to realize their mistake seconds before the crash.
‘Truck One, stop, stop, stop!’ An air traffic controller can be heard saying, before addressing the plane a few seconds later: ‘JAZZ 646, I see you have collided with a vehicle. Just hold your position. I know you can’t move. ‘Tools now respond to you.’
Horrific footage has revealed the moment an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck as it crossed the runway at LaGuardia Airport; As the truck rolled over, a huge spray of water and debris spread across the asphalt.
Audio from air traffic controllers showed the dispatcher telling the Frontier crew that the runway would be closed and asking if they wanted to return to the ramp.
“We have work in progress for that guy, it wasn’t good to watch,” one Frontier pilot said.
‘Yes, I tried to reach them. ‘We were facing an emergency and I messed it up,’ he replied, before the border pilot tried to reassure him: ‘No, you did the best you could.’
There were 72 passengers and 4 crew members on board, and experts said the death toll could have been much higher if the truck had collided with fuel stored on the plane.
In the images taken from the asphalt after the incident, it was seen that the truck was destroyed in the collision and the front nose of the plane exploded.
One of the 41 people hospitalized in the crash was a female flight attendant who was thrown from the front of the jet while strapped into her seat.
The crash resulted in LaGuardia halting all flights as emergency crews rushed to the scene.
The fire truck was completely destroyed by debris, and the pilot and co-pilot of the Air Canada plane were killed.
The nose of an Air Canada plane was crushed in the collision
Horrified passenger shares shocking images of plane damage
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) launched an investigation into the cause of the accident.
Sources told NBC News that the air traffic controller was working two positions at the time of the crash.
The identities of the pilots who died in the crash were not disclosed, but officials said they were outside Canada.
“Unfortunately, two pilots have been confirmed dead and notifications are currently being made by Air Canada’s maintenance team,” said Kathryn Garcia, general manager of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
‘We don’t have demographic information, but we understand they operate locally outside of Canada.’
