Reuters. An Air Canada Express jet collided with a fire truck while landing at New York's LaGuardia airport late on Sunday (March 22) , 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 CHR.TO. Jazz and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the pilot and first officer were killed.
The crash comes as U.S. aviation faces chronic shortages of air traffic controllers and a separate shortfall of Transportation Security Administration officers due to a partial government shutdown that has led to delays, long security lines and heightened safety concerns across airports nationwide.
Minutes before the crash, air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net indicated that a United flight had declared an emergency due to an odor 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 one stop, truck one, stop."
The aircraft struck the fire vehicle at a speed of about 24 miles per hour (39 kph), according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, which last recorded data at 11:37 p.m. ET (0337 GMT).
Photos taken by Reuters after the accident showed visible damage to the nose of the plane, which was tilted upward.
