A pilot and co-pilot lost their lives when an Air Canada passenger plane collided with a fire truck on a runway at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the aircraft – a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada – struck a Port Authority vehicle responding to a separate incident at around 11:40pm.
Preliminary information from the sources indicates that two other individuals, a sergeant and an officer, suffered broken limbs and remain in stable condition at a hospital.
Jazz Aviation reported that 72 passengers and four crew members were aboard Flight 8646, though the airline noted that this figure was based on the preliminary passenger list.
A senior official with knowledge of the investigation stated that more than a dozen people sustained injuries of varying degrees. Some of the injured received treatment at Elmhurst and Queens Presbyterian hospitals.
Port Authority described the vehicle involved as an aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle manned by police officers.
The sources said the plane was at the end of its landing roll, travelling at approximately 30mph, when the collision occurred.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) identified the aircraft as a Bombardier CRJ-900 twinjet operated by Air Canada Express, also known as Jazz Aviation, arriving from Montreal.
The accident took place on LaGuardia’s Runway 4, the FAA stated, adding that it is investigating the crash while the Port Authority Police Department remains on the scene as the inquiry begins.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has dispatched a “go team” to the collision site and will deploy an investigative team later today.
Social media footage showed the passenger jet on the runway with its cockpit elevated and the underside of its forward fuselage heavily damaged.
FAA announced that the airport remains closed, with no flights taking off or landing at LaGuardia until at least 2pm on Monday. NYPD urged the public to avoid the area surrounding LaGuardia and to expect local disruption, as all streets and highway exits leading into the airport are also shut.
NTSB confirmed it is launching a go team to investigate the collision.
