An Air Canada Express aircraft, flying back from Montreal, collided with a ground vehicle upon landing at New York's LaGuardia airport on late Sunday. The incident led to the temporary shutdown of the airport.
According to Flightradar24, the Air Canada Express CRJ-900 plane, struck
The vehicle was travelling at a speed of about 24 miles per hour (39 kph).
Reportedly, four people were injured in the incident, which involved a fire truck manned by police officials. The videos of the incident, which went viral on social media, revealed that the aircraft's nose suffered severe damage.
It is not certain if the pilot and copilot survived the crash.
Conflicting reports initially cast doubt on whether the pilot and co-pilot survived the crash. While some unverified accounts suggested fatalities, official sources confirm that both crew members survived the incident, though they are being treated for severe injuries.
At least four people were critically injured in the crash.
Due to the incident, the arriving flights had been diverted to other airports or returned to their point of origin.
The plane involved in the accident was operated by Air Canada's regional partner Jazz, which is owned by Chorus Aviation. According to Air Canada's website, Jazz's CRJ-900 can seat up to 76 passengers.
New York City's emergency notification system said people could expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and emergency personnel near the airport.
ATC 'Stop, stop, stop' warning
The Air Traffic Controller's audio has surfaced on social media with the official's heard yelling, "Stop, stop, stop" to the truck driver seconds before the crash.
In the audio clip, the official was heard saying that the "Truck 1 and company LaGuardia Tower are requesting to cross 4 at Delta".
"Truck 1 and company crossing 4," the official says.
The traffic controller then asks, "Frontier 4195, just stop there, please."
"Stop, stop, stop, Truck 1, stop, stop, stop," the controller can be heard shouting in panic.
The traffic controller then asks "Delta 2603" to "go around".
"Jet 646. Jet 646, I see you collide with a vehicle. Hold position; I know you can't move. The vehicle is responding to you now," the controller was apparently heard telling the pilot of the Air Canada plane in the audio clip.
THE WEEK could not immediately verify the audio.
Reportedly, the truck, a fire vehicle, was trying to cross the runway to get to a United Airlines flight.
