Air Canada plane collides with fire truck at New York’s La Guardia Airport. Flights were stopped. According to unconfirmed reports there have been 2 deaths and 70 injuries. Investigation of the incident is ongoing.
There was a stir at New York’s La Guardia Airport late Sunday night. Here a regional jet plane of Air Canada Express collided with a fire truck at the airport itself. After this incident, emergency teams immediately reached La Guardia, one of America’s busiest airports, and all flights were stopped. Pictures on social media show that the front part (nose) of the plane is badly damaged and several emergency vehicles are surrounding the plane on the taxiway. Authorities have not yet confirmed the number of casualties, although initial reports on social media claim two people have died and at least 70 have been injured. Investigation into the incident has been started.
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collision on taxiway
According to initial reports, the plane was Air Canada Express flight AC8646, which is a Bombardier CRJ-900 jet. It is operated by Jazz Aviation. It is being reported that the plane collided with a fire truck while crossing a taxiway near Runway 4/22. Initial pictures obtained from the spot show extensive damage to the front portion of the regional jet, which shows that the collision was severe. When emergency teams arrived, the passengers were taken off the plane and brought to the tarmac. In a recording of Air Traffic Control (ATC) going viral online, the truck is being warned to ‘stop’ just before the collision. For this reason a Delta flight was stopped from landing.
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Emergency response and airport closed
After the accident, US authorities banned all flights at this major transport hub (ground stop). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) did not give any reason for stopping the flights, but said there was a ‘very strong possibility’ that the order would go forward.
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According to reports, emergency services were immediately deployed on the taxiway to assess the situation and provide assistance to those on board the plane. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), along with the FAA, is expected to investigate the collision. Officials will examine air traffic control communications, aircraft movement data and the positions of airport vehicles at the time of the incident. The incident comes at a time when airports across the US are struggling with staff shortages, especially Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees.