Deadly Plane Collision at LaGuardia Airport: What We Know
Two pilots were killed and dozens of other people were injured when a jet collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York.
An Air Canada regional jet collided with a fire truck on a runway as the plane was landing at LaGuardia Airport in Queens late Sunday, killing two people and injuring dozens more.
Here’s what we know:
What happened?
The plane, a CRJ900 operating as Air Canada Express Flight 8646, had flown from Montreal with 72 passengers and four crew members aboard, according to its operator Jazz Aviation, a regional carrier in Canada.
The fire truck, a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle, crossed onto the runway where the Air Canada jet was landing at around 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, officials said. It had been responding to a separate incident involving a United Airlines flight.
Images show the Air Canada plane’s nose mostly sheared off from the impact of the crash, and an overturned fire rescue truck nearby.
Investigators were examining whether air traffic controllers were distracted by the emergency on the United flight moments before the collision. The United jet had aborted its departure because of a foul odor onboard, prompting controllers to find a new gate and coordinate with emergency responders.
In the recordings, a person in the fire truck requests permission to cross a runway, receiving it before an air traffic control operator tells the vehicle several times to stop. “Stop, Truck 1, stop!” the controller can be heard saying.
After the collision, the controller can be heard telling the pilot of another plane, “I messed up.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said staffing levels at the LaGuardia control tower would be part of the investigation. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has dismissed reports that only one controller was on duty on Sunday night.
Who were the victims?
The pilot and co-pilot were killed, and dozens of others were injured, including two officers in the truck, officials said. The Port Authority identified the occupants of the fire truck as Sgt. Michael Orsillo and Officer Adrian Baez. Officer Baez was released from the hospital on Monday night and Sergeant Orsillo remained hospitalized.
Forty-one others were taken to the hospital after the crash, said Kathryn Garcia, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns and operates LaGuardia Airport. Thirty-two of those people had been released as of early Monday, but some others were seriously injured.
The accident is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, but long security lines at other airports delayed the arrival of specialists until early Tuesday, said Jennifer Homendy, the agency’s chairwoman.
A flight attendant was ejected from the plane.
Rebecca Liquori, 35, who was sitting on the left side of the plane by an emergency exit, said the plane made “a huge noise” as the pilots braked in an attempt to avoid the crash. “I’ve never heard it before,” she said. “It was like a grinding.”
“A few seconds after that, you hear the collision and we just got jolted,” Ms. Liquori said. “We got thrown forward. And everybody’s screaming.”
A flight attendant, Solange Tremblay, was ejected from the plane while still strapped into her seat, her daughter, Sarah Lépine, told TVA Nouvelles, a Quebec broadcaster. Ms. Lépine said that one of Ms. Tremblay’s legs was broken and would require surgery.
Ms. Liquori said the pilots were heroes.
“They did everything they can to save us and they didn’t save themselves and they couldn’t save themselves,” she said.
How will this affect air travel?
Officials ordered a ground stop at LaGuardia early Monday as emergency vehicles swarmed the damaged jet.
The airport was closed until 2 p.m., halting traffic at one of the country’s key regional hubs. The first flight after the crash took off at 2:08 p.m., as operations restarted. But officials said travelers should expect residual delays and cancellations and should check with their carriers before leaving for the airport. At a news conference on Monday, officials said the runway where the crash occurred would remain closed as the National Transportation Safety Board conducted its investigation.
One of three major airports in the New York City area, LaGuardia is a central hub for regional and domestic travel in the Northeast, with nearly 900 arrivals and departures per day.
More than 400 flights to and from the airport on Monday were canceled by the morning, adding to travel strife at United States airports caused by the partial government shutdown. The brunt of the disruption from Sunday’s crash is likely to fall on regional and domestic travelers, as LaGuardia restricts nonstop flights to within 1,500 miles.