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 all flights at LaGuardia, a major transport hub, as AFP images showed the Bombardier jet tilted back on its tail with a smashed cockpit next to the damaged emergency vehicle.
US aviation investigators, assisted by Canadian counterparts, launched a probe into what appeared to be the airport’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.
The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash, Kathryn Garcia, the head of the city’s port authority, said at a news conference early Monday. Forty-one people were taken to the hospital, some with “serious injuries,” though 32 were later released, Garcia said. 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.
Flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 said the plane “was rolling down the runway when it struck” the rescue vehicle as it crossed its path.
– ‘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.”
New York’s emergency management authority warned people to “expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays & emergency personnel,” and use alternate routes near the airport. AFP journalists saw travelers at LaGuardia laying down in a terminal as hundreds of flights were cancelled, with the airport shuttered until at least 2:00 pm (1800 GMT) Monday.
US President Donald Trump described the crash as “terrible,” telling reporters, “They made a mistake. It’s a dangerous business.” Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said he was traveling to LaGuardia in response to the “horrific crash.” He shared a picture from the scene on social media that showed the plane’s crushed cockpit with emergency services surrounding the wreckage.
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.
Located in the 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.
© 2024 AFP
