An Air Canada Express passenger jet struck a firefighting vehicle as it landed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Sunday evening, killing the plane’s two pilots and injuring dozens.
The plane struck an emergency vehicle responding to a separate incident at the airport, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, at a news conference early Monday.
Forty-one people were taken to hospital, some with serious injuries, she said. The injured included two officers from the firefighting vehicle, who were in stable condition. Thirty-two people have since been released from hospital, Garcia said.
The Port Authority said the incident took place about 11:40 p.m. and involved a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada.
The Bombardier CRJ jet was operating as an Air Canada Express flight, arriving from Montreal, Jazz Aviation said. A preliminary passenger list for Flight 8646 indicated the aircraft was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members, it said in a brief statement.
The cause of the collision was not immediately clear. The National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency responsible for investigating civil aviation accidents, said it was launching an immediate investigation, and LaGuardia Airport will remain closed until at least 2 p.m. to allow investigators to work.
Photographs showed severe damage to the nose of the Air Canada Express jet, with debris hanging from the front of the plane as its nose swung upward. Others showed severe damage to a nearby emergency vehicle, which appeared to have overturned, as a large team of responders surrounded the area.
The Fire Department of New York confirmed that it responded to an incident involving a plane and vehicle on the runway but referred all other queries to the Port Authority.
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