NEW YORK — The pilot and copilot of an Air Canada regional jet were killed when the aircraft crashed into a fire truck that was on the runway.
The collision happened late Sunday at New York LaGuardia Airport, The Associated Press reported.
The nose of the jet, flying as Air Canada Express Flight 8646, was crushed in the incident, the AP and The New York Times reported. The fire truck was responding to a separate incident on a United Airlines aircraft, which was described as an “issue with odor” at the time of the crash.
Just before the crash, an air traffic controller gave the fire truck permission to cross part of the tarmac, then tried to stop it.
“Stop, Truck 1, Stop,” was heard on the ATC recording, the AP reported.
Seconds later, a controller said, “Jazz 646, I see you collided with a vehicle,” the Times reported.
The plane was traveling about 130 mph before it collided with the fire truck, CNN reported.
The Jazz Aviation flight on the CRJ900 had 72 passengers and four crew members departing Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport before flying to New York.
About 40 passengers and crew members, including two from the fire truck, were taken to the hospital. Thirty-two were released, the New York Port Authority said, according to CNN.
The airport is expected to remain closed until at least 2 p.m. Monday.
The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation.
More than 1,000 flights were scheduled to fly out of or into LaGuardia Monday morning, with more than half canceled, The New York Times reported.
Delta Air Lines had the most planes expected to depart from4 crew members and departed the airport, with more than 500, according to the newspaper. depart from
Check back for more on this developing story.
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