An Air Canada Express jet collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia airport late on Sunday, killing both pilots, injuring dozens and closing the facility, authorities said. The Air Canada Express CRJ-900 plane, operated by its regional partner Jazz Aviation, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members and had departed from Montreal, said Jazz, which is owned by Chorus Aviation. Jazz and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the pilot and first officer were killed. The crash comes as US aviation faces chronic shortages of air traffic controllers and a separate shortfall of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers due to a partial government shutdown that has led to delays, long security lines and heightened safety concerns across airports nationwide. A separate 35-minute ground stop at nearby Newark Liberty International yesterday morning added to delays after air-traffic controllers evacuated their tower because of a burning smell from an elevator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. “Today is an incredibly difficult day for our airline, our employees, and most importantly, the families and loved ones of those affected by the accident involving flight 8646,” said Jazz president Doug Clarke.Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority, said 32 of the 41 injured had been released, while nine remained in hospital with “serious injuries”. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that at least two Port Authority firefighters sustained serious injuries. Aviation safety experts say investigators would look at air traffic control staffing levels and the actions of both the controller and truck crew.“The Air Canada jet was obviously cleared to land and from the radio transmissions, it appears that the airport rescue and firefighting vehicle was cleared. There are a lot of questions now regarding the communications,” said US safety expert Anthony Brickhouse. “Communication is going to be a major part of this investigation.” Air-crash investigations typically find that accidents result from multiple contributing factors, rather than a single cause.Garcia said that the fire truck was responding to a separate United Airlines aircraft that had “reported an issue with odour”. United, along with unions representing US air traffic controllers (ATC) and Air Canada pilots declined to comment.Minutes earlier, air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net indicated that a United flight had declared an emergency due to an odour onboard. Controllers advised the crew that fire trucks were already on site.A later transmission captured a fire truck being cleared to cross Runway 4 at taxiway “Delta”, where the collision occurred.Moments later, according to the ATC audio, a controller can be heard saying: “Stop, stop, stop, truck 1 stop, truck 1, stop.”The aircraft struck the fire vehicle at a speed of about 24mph (39kph), according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, which last recorded data at 11.37pm ET (0337 GMT). Photos taken by Reuters after the accident showed visible damage to the nose of the plane, which was tilted upward.Two unnamed passengers told ABC affiliate WABC of the shock on board, with one describing a friend suffering a broken nose and travelers hitting their heads on the seats ahead. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was deploying a team of experts to investigate the incident, while Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said it would also send a team to support the investigation. Air Canada, the country’s largest carrier, said its teams and those from Jazz Aviation are also heading to the site.The closure of one of New York’s busiest airports will add to travel disruption. Absences among transportation security workers have soared, leading to lengthy lines for passengers at major US airports.Hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were ordered yesterday to deploy to airports to help fill the TSA staffing gaps. About 546 flights had been canceled at the airport so far yesterday, according to tracking website FlightAware.Located in the New York borough of Queens, LaGuardia is New York’s third-busiest airport, serving 33.5mn passengers in 2024, according to port authority figures. It completed an $8bn redevelopment in 2024, upgrading its aging infrastructure with new terminals and roadways.The FAA recorded 97 runway incursions in January this year, compared with 133 in the same period last year. A bipartisan group of US House lawmakers last month proposed legislation to address 50 aviation safety recommendations issued after a year-long investigation into the January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people. Last year also saw a UPS cargo plane crash shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, killing seven and injuring 11 on the ground. Transcript of exchange between the air trafficcontroller and fire truckDriver: “Truck one and company, LaGuardia Tower. Requesting to cross four at Delta.”Controller: “Truck one and company, cross four at Delta.”Driver: “Truck one and company crossing four at Delta.”Controller: “Frontier 4195, stop there please. (Pause.) Stop, stop, stop, truck one, stop, stop, stop. Stop, truck one, stop! Stop, truck one, stop.”(Alarm goes off.)“Jazz 646. Jazz 646, I see you collided with vehicle. (Inaudible) Hold position. I know he can’t move. Vehicles are responding to you now.”After further dialogue.Second controller: “Man, that wasn’t good to watch.”First controller: “Yeah, I know. I was here. I tried to reach out to my staff. And we were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up.”Second controller: “No man, you did the best you could.” – AFP
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