New York (AFP) – Two pilots were killed and dozens of people injured after an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia airport, US authorities said Monday. The crash late Sunday halted flights at LaGuardia, a major transport hub, with the Bombardier jet left tilted back onto its tail, its cockpit smashed, next to the damaged emergency vehicle. By 2:00 pm (1800 GMT) Monday, the airport said flights had restarted but told travelers to still expect delays and cancellations.
US aviation investigators, assisted by Canadian counterparts, opened a probe into what appeared to be LaGuardia’s first fatal accident since 1992. An audio recording from the air traffic tower showed that a controller had cleared the truck, which was responding to a separate incident, to cross the runway before urgently ordering it to halt. “Stop, truck one, stop!” the controller said moments before the collision. An alarm was then heard. Surveillance footage shared by US media captured the moment the plane smashed into the rescue vehicle as it crossed its path, sending both hurtling down the runway.
The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash, officials said. “These were two young men at the start of their career, so it’s an absolute tragedy that we’re sitting here with their loss,” Bryan Bedford, head of the Federal Aviation Administration, told reporters. More than 40 other people were taken to the hospital, but many were discharged by Monday afternoon, said Kathryn Garcia, head of the city’s Port Authority. She added that the two men in the damaged fire truck were expected to recover.
The plane was operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Air Canada, which said the CRJ-900 aircraft flew into LaGuardia from Montreal as Flight 8646. A preliminary passenger list showed 76 people on board the flight, including four crew members, Jazz Aviation said in a statement.
– ‘Everyone was screaming’ –
Jack Cabot, a passenger on the flight, recalled a chaotic scene as the plane “immediately hit something” after a hard landing. “Everyone was hunkered down, everyone was screaming, we didn’t have any directions because the pilots’ cabin was destroyed,” he told US media. “So someone said ‘let’s get the emergency exit, let’s get the door and all jump out’ and that’s exactly what we did.”
US President Donald Trump described the crash as “terrible,” telling reporters, “They made a mistake. It’s a dangerous business.” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the fatal incident was “deeply saddening.” “Canadian officials are working closely with their US counterparts on the ground as the investigation continues. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and all those impacted,” he wrote on X.
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters that LaGuardia is a “very well staffed airport,” addressing what he called a “rumor” there was only one controller in the tower late Sunday. Air traffic controller shortages are a problem across the United States and the government has ramped up its hiring efforts in response.
As hundreds of flights were canceled due to the crash, AFP journalists saw travelers at LaGuardia laying down in a terminal Monday. Located in the borough of Queens, LaGuardia is the third-busiest airport serving New York, handling 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.
© 2024 AFP
