An unexpected accident occurred at LaGuardia Airport in New York City when an Air Canada Express passenger plane collided with a fire truck while taxiing toward the terminal. This resulted in the deaths of the pilot and co-pilot, with several others injured. Amid changing weather conditions, the airport declared an emergency flight suspension.
The pilot and co-pilot of the regional Air Canada Express flight died after the plane struck a fire truck during landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York. The incident happened at approximately 11:40 p.m. local time on Sunday night (22 March). The Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft, operated by Jazz Aviation and arriving from Montreal, Canada, collided with an airport police fire truck on Runway 4 at LaGuardia.
NBC News, reporting on the fatalities, stated that dozens more were injured in the incident. According to sources cited by NBC News, the fire truck had airport police officers aboard. Earlier reports indicated that a sergeant and a police officer suffered fractures but were in stable condition at the hospital.
Data from Flightradar24 showed that at the time of the collision, the plane was moving at about 39 kilometers per hour. The impact caused severe damage to the aircraft's nose, which was lifted off the ground, as seen in photos circulating on social media.
Onboard the aircraft were 72 passengers and 4 crew members. Reports noted that most passengers were Orthodox Jews from the New York area. Medical teams were urgently assessing injuries and ensuring the safety of all passengers.
Following the incident, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) immediately ordered all flights at LaGuardia Airport to be suspended. Flights headed to LaGuardia were either diverted to other airports or returned to their points of origin.
Initial reports indicated that adverse weather conditions, including a rainstorm, were present at the time, possibly contributing to the accident. However, the FAA and relevant authorities are actively investigating to determine exactly why the fire truck and plane ended up on the same path, leading to the collision.