Khaberni - A plane carrying dozens of people collided with a fire truck on the runway of LaGuardia Airport in New York on Sunday night, resulting in the deaths of the pilot and his assistant and injuries to others with "serious injuries", according to authorities on Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration suspended all flights at LaGuardia Airport, and the airport authority said it would remain closed until at least 2:00 PM (18:00 GMT) "to allow for a thorough investigation".
Images showed significant damage to the front part and cockpit of the "Air Canada Express" plane coming from Montreal, surrounded by emergency vehicles on the runway.
The pilot and his assistant were killed in the incident, according to Port Authority of New York president Catherine Garcia during a press conference.
41 injured were taken to the hospital, some with "serious" injuries. Garcia said that 32 of them have left the hospital.
She added that two of the firefighting air rescue personnel are still in the hospital "in stable condition and their injuries are not life-threatening". She confirmed they "were able to speak and we are in the process of informing their families".
The aircraft, operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Canadian Airlines, collided with a fire truck on runway number four at about 11:40 PM Sunday (03:40 GMT Monday) while responding to another incident, as announced by the Port Authority of New York.
"Emergency response protocols were activated immediately," she said.
An initial passenger list mentioned that there were 76 people aboard the plane, including four crew members, according to a statement from Jazz Aviation.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced that it has sent a team to the site to investigate the incident.
- Flight cancellations and road closures -
Jazz Aviation reported that the plane involved in the accident was a CRJ-900 model that arrived at LaGuardia from Montreal as part of flight AC8646.
Flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 reported that the plane "was moving on the runway when it collided" with the vehicle that was passing by.
New York's emergency management stated that travelers should expect "flight cancellations, road closures, traffic delays, and a presence of emergency responders" near the airport in the Queens area. They advised using alternative routes.
LaGuardia was already experiencing disruptions in air traffic due to bad weather, according to the airport on "X" on Sunday.
Additionally, passengers are required to wait longer to pass through security checkpoints due to the repercussions of the federal funding crisis on employee attendance, as announced last week.
LaGuardia, located in the Queens area, is the third busiest airport in New York with 33.5 million passengers passing through it in 2024, according to Port Authority data.
An $8 billion redevelopment was completed in 2024, updating its old infrastructure with new buildings and pathways.
The United States has witnessed deadly plane crash incidents in recent years, including a collision between a passenger plane and an army helicopter near Washington in January 2025, which killed 67 people.
Other incidents occurred or nearly occurred while planes were on the ground.
