Two killed after plane collides with a fire engine at New York’s LaGuardia airport
Two people have died after a plane struck a fire engine on the runway of New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
Air Canada Express Flight 8646 from Montreal to New York smashed into a fire truck responding to a separate incident at around 11.40pm.
The pilot and co-pilot of the plane have been killed, the port authority’s executive director, Kathryn Garcia, said at a conference in the early hours.
She said: ‘Sadly, the two pilots are confirmed deceased and notifications are being made by Air Canada’s care team at this time.’
A total of 41 people, including passengers, crew and aircraft rescue and firefighters, were taken to the hospital.
Both of the officers in the fire truck are in stable condition, Garcia said.
An air traffic controller was heard telling ‘truck one’ to stop after the plane was cleared to cross the runway, according to LiveATC.net.
The air traffic controller added: ‘We were dealing with an emergency earlier, and I messed up.’
ABC7 reported that the flight was rolling down runway four at around 30mph, with the last recorded speed being 131mph.
The truck was responding to an issue on a United flight, concerning ‘an issue with an odour’, added Garcia.
The airport said on X that it is closed to ‘allow for a thorough investigation’, with 400 flights cancelled so far.
The US’ Federal Aviation Administration, which issued a ground stop, and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
Jazz Aviation said the accident and noted the passenger and crew list was preliminary and subject to confirmation.
Fire officials told Metro firefighters responded to an ‘incident involving a plane and vehicle on runway’ at 11.38pm.
The FAA told Metro: ‘Air Canada Express Flight 8646 struck an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle after landing on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
‘The accident occurred around 11:45pm local time on Sunday, March 22.
‘The CRJ-900 was arriving from Montreal. The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB is in charge of the investigation and will provide all updates.’
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