(NEW YORK) — A regional Air Canada jet crashed late on Sunday into a Port Authority airport vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in New York, a collision that demolished the front of the airplane, killed two pilots, injured dozens of others and prompted the airport to shut down on Monday morning, law enforcement and aviation officials said.
At least 41 people were transferred to local hospitals after the plane, which was operated by Jazz Aviation, struck a rescue-and-firefighting vehicle that had been “responding to a separate incident,” a Port Authority spokesperson said in a statement. Two of the injured were Port Authority officers and the other 39 were passengers, officials said.
“The airport will remain closed until at least 2 p.m. Monday to allow for a thorough investigation,” the authority said.
The collision happened shortly after the plane, Air Canada Flight 8646, which was carrying four crew members and 72 passengers, touched down, according to Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia.
Jazz Aviation, which is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, issued a statement confirming the incident, saying it happened at 11:47 p.m. Air Canada said on social media that it was “aware of an incident” and that Jazz Aviation would issue updates as needed.
All passengers have been accounted for, Garcia told reporters at a pre-dawn press conference at the airport. An unaccompanied minor on the plane was reunited with their family, she said.
Thirty-two of those who had been transferred to the airport were later released, Garcia said, adding that several others had serious injuries. Two Port Authority police officers who were injured — a sergeant and an officers — were in stable condition at the hospital, she said.
The regional jet involved in the collision had traveled from Montreal to New York, according to Flightradar24, a flight information tracker. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. Preliminary information appeared to show that the flight had landed on Runway 4 and was rolling down the runway when the collision occurred.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to investigate the crash. Chair Jennifer Homendy will serve as the on-scene spokesperson, accompanied by member John DeLeeuw, according to the NTSB. Those investigators were on site by the time Garcia spoke at about 4:30 a.m. ET, according to the Port Authority.
New York City Emergency Management said in a statement that its first responders were present at the airport, adding that the initial response from the Fire Department had ended.
“Units will remain on scene with a watch line that includes one engine, one ladder, and one battalion chief,” the NYCEM’s statement said. “The NTSB is on scene leading the investigation.”
The pilot and the co-pilot of the plane were killed in the crash, multiple officials briefed on the situation said earlier. The New York City Chief Medical Examiner’s Office was on-scene early on Monday, and officials were awaiting confirmation of the identities of those who were killed. Next of kin were to be notified before their names were released, officials said.
The ground vehicle — a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting — had requested permission and had been cleared by the air traffic controller to cross Runway 4 at taxiway Delta, according to audio recordings. Shortly after that permission was granted, an air traffic controller was heard telling the vehicle to stop several times right before the collision, according to the recordings.
At least 18 flights have been diverted from LGA following the airport’s closure, with most being sent to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport or to New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport.
A union official had earlier told ABC News that there were two individuals who had been injured in the crash, saying they were Port Authority police officers assigned to firefighter duty at LaGuardia Airport.
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