Each pilots have been killed after an Air Canada Categorical regional jet collided with a hearth truck whereas touchdown at New York’s LaGuardia airport late on Sunday, closing the airport, authorities and U.S. media mentioned, in an incident set to attract scrutiny following a string of current aviation lapses.
NBC Information, which reported the deaths, mentioned dozens of individuals have been injured within the incident.
The Air Canada Categorical CRJ-900 airplane, operated by its regional associate Jazz Aviation, was carrying 72 passengers and 4 crew members from Montreal, based mostly on a preliminary passenger checklist that remained topic to affirmation. Jazz is owned by Refrain Aviation.
The U.S. Nationwide Transportation Security Board (NTSB) mentioned it was deploying a group of technical specialists to analyze the incident.
Fireplace truck was cleared to cross runway
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey mentioned the firefighting automobile was responding to a separate incident when it was struck by the plane on the airport’s Runway 4, with out elaborating additional.
Minutes earlier than the incident, the airport’s air site visitors management audio broadcast from LiveATC.internet indicated {that a} United Airways flight had declared an emergency attributable to an odor reported onboard. Controllers instructed the plane that fireside vehicles have been obtainable on website.
A second transmission then reveals a fireplace truck was cleared to cross Runway 4, the place the collision occurred, at taxiway ‘Delta”.
Moments later, based on the ATC audio, a controller could be heard saying: “Cease, cease, cease, truck 1 cease, truck 1, cease.”
NBC Information, citing sources, mentioned the hearth truck was manned by cops. It had earlier mentioned a sergeant and an officer had damaged limbs and have been in steady situation at a hospital.
Plane’s nostril and cockpit space broken
The plane struck the hearth automobile at a velocity of about 24 miles per hour (39 kph), in accordance to flight monitoring web site Flightradar24, which final recorded information at 11:37 p.m. ET (0337 GMT).
Pictures taken by Reuters after the accident confirmed seen injury to the nostril of the airplane, which was tilted upward.
Authorities and emergency businesses didn’t supply any quick feedback on deaths or accidents.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mentioned the airport was anticipated to stay shut till 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) on Monday.
Flightradar24 mentioned 18 flights had been diverted to different airports, largely within the New York space, or returned to their level of origin.
Air Canada referred Reuters to Jazz’s assertion and mentioned it was conscious of the incident. The Nationwide Transportation Security Board and the FAA didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
New York Metropolis’s emergency notification system mentioned folks might anticipate cancellations, highway closures, site visitors delays and emergency personnel close to the airport.
LaGuardia served over 30 million annual passengers in 2025, in accordance to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a big selection of U.S. airways function on the airport.
Latest incidents
In accordance with the FAA, there have been 97 runway incursions in January this yr, in comparison with 133 incidents throughout the identical interval final yr.
A bipartisan group of U.S. Home lawmakers final month proposed laws to deal with 50 aviation security suggestions issued after a year-long investigation into the January 2025 collision between an American Airways regional jet and a U.S. Military Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 folks.
Final yr, a UPS cargo airplane crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, killing seven and injuring 11 on the bottom.
