An Air Canada plane bearing 72 passengers, along with four people in its crew, struck a fire engine when it attempted to land on Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport in New York, per the Associated Press. Tragically, the pilot and the co-pilot were killed. Many others were hurt in the collision. Photos show the plane came to rest on its tail. Its shattered nose was up in the air, "crushed" and unrecognizable. The fire truck was lying on its side.
Videos by Wide Open Country
According to the outlet, the fire truck was reportedly given the go-ahead to head to another plane that was reporting a smell of smoke. Just moments prior to the crash with the Air Canada flight, an air traffic controller was "frantically telling the fire truck to stop." The controller said, "Stop, Truck 1. Stop." But the urgent warning to halt immediately did evidently not come in time to prevent the deadly accident.
Furthermore, the National Transportation Safety Board is going to investigate the plane crash.
The Airport Shut Down
LaGuardia Airport is operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It was temporarily closed as a result of the incident. Planes were being diverted to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
An Air Traffic Controller Seems To Take Responsibility for the Collision
A communications transmission took place about 20 minutes after the crash. It indicates that an air traffic controller felt he was to blame. Per the outlet, this person allegedly said, "We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up."
Multiple People Were Injured
There were the two fatalities previously mentioned. In fact, per the outlet, 40 passengers and crew members were transported to hospitals. Many of them were released by Monday morning. Two individuals in the fire truck were not thought to have life-threatening injuries. That is according to Executive Director Kathryn Garcia of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
New York's Governor Issued a Statement
Governor Kathy Hochul of New York issued a brief statement on X. It said, "Heartbreaking news out of LaGuardia this morning. Two pilots were killed and dozens injured in this tragedy. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected. The airport will remain closed until 2:00 PM. We'll continue to share updates as they become available."
