An Air Canada regional jet collided with a fire truck while landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night, killing the pilot and copilot, injuring dozens of passengers and crew, and forcing a temporary closure of one of the New York area's busiest airports. According to Antigua News Room, the incident occurred at approximately 11:40 p.m.
A Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle on the runway, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed in a statement. The vehicle was responding to a separate incident elsewhere on the airport grounds at the time of the collision.
"Emergency response protocols were immediately activated," the Port Authority said. "The airport is currently closed to facilitate the response and allow for a thorough investigation."
The aircraft was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members, the airline confirmed. Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia, speaking at an early Monday morning news conference, said 41 passengers and crew were transported to hospital, of whom 32 have since been discharged. Two occupants of the fire truck were also hospitalised and are reported to be in stable condition.
Passengers were directed to Air Canada's ticket counter to be reunited with their families. Garcia noted that one unaccompanied minor was among those on board.
The flight, identified as Air Canada flight 8646, departed Montreal Trudeau International Airport shortly after 10:30 p.m. ET and arrived at LaGuardia approximately one hour later, according to flight tracking site FlightRadar24. The aircraft was travelling at roughly 130 miles per hour in the moments before impact, based on the final data point recorded by FlightRadar24 before the collision. Photos and video from the scene showed severe damage to the nose of the plane.
Air traffic control audio sheds light on the sequence of events leading up to the crash. A United Airlines flight had aborted a takeoff on the opposite side of the airport after a warning light activated and pilots reported an odour in the cabin that had sickened flight attendants. The fire truck was granted permission to cross the runway — the same runway on which the Air Canada jet was landing — to reach the United aircraft.
Seconds later, an air traffic controller urgently ordered the truck to halt.
"Truck One, stop, stop, stop!" the controller is heard saying, before addressing the incoming jet: "JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now."
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop at LaGuardia shortly after the collision, citing an "aircraft emergency." The airport is expected to remain closed until at least 2 p.m. Monday. More than 500 flights in and out of the airport had been cancelled as of early Monday morning, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the scene in the early hours of Monday morning, as reported by Antigua News Room. A CNN reporter at the scene around 2 a.m. described the runway as filled with emergency vehicles.
The collision comes amid broader disruption across the United States air travel system. An ongoing lapse of funding for the Department of Homeland Security has left Transportation Security Administration officers working without pay, prompting increased call-outs and staffing shortages at airport security checkpoints. Air traffic controllers, however, are not affected by the current partial shutdown, which is limited to DHS funding. LaGuardia, the third-busiest airport in the New York metropolitan area, had also earlier warned of flight disruptions due to light rain and fog in the area.
