New York (AFP) – A plane carrying dozens of people collided with a fire truck late Sunday on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia airport, killing the pilot and co-pilot and forcing a halt to flights, authorities and US media reported. AFP pictures showed the heavily damaged nose and cockpit section of the Air Canada Express plane, which had arrived from Montreal, on the tarmac flanked by emergency vehicles with their lights flashing. The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the collision, US media including CNN and NBC reported. Another 13 people, including 11 passengers and two first responders, were taken to the hospital with injuries, according to broadcaster ABC.
The aircraft operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Air Canada, struck a firefighting truck on Runway 4 at around 11:40 pm on Sunday (0340 GMT Monday) as the vehicle drove to a separate incident, New York’s port authority said. A preliminary passenger list showed 76 people on board, including four crew members, Jazz Aviation said in a statement. US aviation authorities ordered all flights at the airport to be grounded, adding there was a “high” likelihood of an extended suspension. “The airport is currently closed to facilitate the response and allow for a thorough investigation,” the port authority said in a statement to AFP. Emergency response protocols had been “immediately activated,” it said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it had sent a “go team” to the scene to investigate the collision. Jazz Aviation said the crash involved a CRJ-900 aircraft that had flown into LaGuardia from Montreal as flight AC8646. Flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 said the plane “was rolling down the runway when it struck” the rescue vehicle as it crossed its path. New York’s emergency management authority warned people to “expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays & emergency personnel,” and use alternate routes near the airport.
LaGuardia had already been suffering from flight disruptions due to poor weather, the airport said Sunday on X. Passengers were also waiting longer to pass security due to “staffing impacts” from a federal funding lapse, it said last week. Located in the New York borough of Queens, LaGuardia is New York’s third-busiest airport, serving 33.5 million passengers in 2024, according to port authority figures. It completed an $8 billion redevelopment in 2024, upgrading its aging infrastructure with new terminals and roadways.
Deadly air crashes in the United States in recent years include a collision between a passenger jet and an army helicopter near Washington in January 2025 that killed 67 people. Other incidents and close calls have taken place while aircraft were on the ground.
© 2024 AFP
