LaGuardia Airport collision between Air Canada plane, fire truck leaves 2 pilots dead | Updates – ABC7 New York

NEW YORK (WABC) — LaGuardia Airport in New York was closed for hours following a collision between a Port Authority airport vehicle and an Air Canada regional plane that killed the pilot and co-pilot and injured more than a dozen others late Sunday night.

The Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada that was involved in the collision was traveling from Montreal to New York. A spokesperson for the FDNY said firefighters responded to the incident at 11:38 p.m. on Sunday.

NOTE | For the latest updates on this story, head to our live blog for more.

Photos and videos from the scene showed severe damage to the front of the CRJ-900 aircraft, with cables and debris hanging from a mangled cockpit. Nearby, a damaged emergency vehicle lay on its side.

The airport reopened and resumed operations with a single runway at 2 p.m. on Monday.

“One of our friends was like several rows back from us and like we walked past him on our way out because he was trying to find his glasses and his nose was totally broken and bleeding on his face,” one passenger told Eyewitness News reporter Phil Taitt. “A lot of people smacked their head against the seat in front of them.”

Preliminary data shows the Air Canada plane was traveling between 93 and 105 mph when it impacted the fire truck, FlightRadar24 told ABC News. The truck was headed to a United flight that had reported an odor on board.

Based on an air traffic control recording, the ground vehicle had requested permission and had been cleared by the air traffic controller to cross Runway 4 at taxiway Delta. Shortly after, the air traffic controller tells the vehicle to stop several times right before the collision.

“Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” the transmission says. The controller can then be heard frantically diverting an incoming aircraft from landing.

Officials say two Port Authority police officers, Sergeant Michael Orsillo and Officer Adrian Baez, and 41 passengers and crew members suffered injuries. Nine of those injuries were significant, Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said. Thirty-two of the injured were treated and released from the hospital. Orsillo remains under the watchful eye of doctors at Elmhurst Hospital, while his colleague was treated and released.

At one point, a flight attendant who was in her seat was thrown from the plane. She ended up on the runway and was rushed to the hospital but is expected to survive.

Seventy-two passengers and four crew members were on board the plane, officials said.

Impact on travel at LaGuardia

LaGuardia Airport reopened at 2 p.m. Monday with a single runway, the FAA said.

Flight delays and cancellations are expected as operations resume slowly and at a reduced capacity.

Hundreds of flights were canceled or diverted out of the airport after the collision prompted the airport to shut down.

Major airlines are waiving rebooking fees and are allowing travelers to rebook themselves on alternate flights departing from either Newark or JFK Airport as long as the original flight was scheduled for Monday and the rebooked flight falls within a specific timeframe this month.

Find more information by clicking on your airline: American Airlines | Delta Air Lines | United Airlines

Runway 4 will remain closed until 7 a.m. Friday, according to a public notice from the FAA.

NTSB to lead crash investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. Air Canada and Jazz Aviation teams are cooperating with NTSB.

The NTSB held a briefing Monday night with an update on the investigation so far.

They said the Air Canada flight’s cockpit voice recorder and cockpit data recorder (black boxes) were retrieved.

Officials said a hole was cut into the tail area of the plane to gain access and retrieve the recorders. They were immediately sent to Washington, D.C. to be reviewed.

The NTSB briefing did not provide a lot more information as investigators are still making their way to the scene, but more details are expected to be shared Tuesday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also held a briefing on Monday, calling LaGuardia a “very well-staffed airport.”

LaGuardia Airport has 33 of the target goal of 37 air traffic controllers, Duffy said, and seven more in training.

He declined to reveal the staffing in the control tower Sunday night, but said a “rumor that there was one controller in the tower was not accurate.”

“It’s troubling we had an aircraft hit a fire truck, that’s troubling, full stop,” he said.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force responded immediately Sunday night to the scene at LGA before it could be determined whether the incident was an accident or potentially something more nefarious.

Agents were on the tarmac well into the early hours of the morning and only were allowed to leave the scene when transportation and aviation officials made the final determination that the crash was not some sort of criminal or terrorist act.

Air Canada has set up a phone line for friends and family of passengers on Air Canada Express flight #AC8646. They can call 1-800-961-7099 for assistance.

ALSO READ | More on why the truck and plane crossed paths

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

———-
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download our connected TV app
* More local news
* Send us a news tip
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts on the go