New York’s LaGuardia airport shut down as pilot, co-pilot killed in runway collision

AFP pictures showed the heavily damaged nose and cockpit section of the Air Canada Express plane, which had arrived from Montreal, on the tarmac flanked by emergency vehicles with their lights flashing.

The aircraft operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Air Canada, struck a firefighting vehicle on Runway 4 at around 11:40pm on Sunday night (8:40am PKT on Monday) as it responded to a separate incident, New York’s port authority said.

A preliminary passenger list showed the 76 people onboard included four crew members, Jazz Aviation said in a statement.

US aviation authorities ordered all flights at the airport to be grounded, adding there was a “high” likelihood of an extended suspension.

“The airport is currently closed to facilitate the response and allow for a thorough investigation,” the port authority said in a statement to AFP.

Emergency response protocols had been “immediately activated”, it said.

Jazz Aviation said the crash involved a CRJ-900 aircraft that had flown into LaGuardia from Montreal as flight AC8646.

Flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 said the plane “was rolling down the runway when it struck” the rescue vehicle as it crossed its path.

New York’s emergency management authority warned people to “expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and emergency personnel”, and use alternate routes near the airport.

LaGuardia had already been suffering from flight disruptions due to poor weather, the airport said on Sunday on X.

Passengers were also waiting longer to pass security due to “staffing impacts” from a federal funding lapse, it said last week.

Located in the New York borough of Queens, LaGuardia is New York’s third-busiest airport, serving 33.5 million passengers in 2024, according to port authority figures.

It completed an $8 billion redevelopment in 2024, upgrading its aging infrastructure with new terminals and roadways.

Several fatal aviation incidents have occurred in the US in recent months, including a collision between a passenger jet and an army helicopter near Washington in January last year that killed 67 people.

Other incidents and close calls have taken place while aircraft have been on the ground.