TORONTO — Two pilots are dead and dozens of passengers were injured after an Air Canada Express flight collided with an airport vehicle while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday.The aircraft, a CRJ-900 operated by Jazz Aviation on behalf of Air Canada, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members on a flight from Montreal. Authorities say the plane struck a rescue and firefighting vehicle on the runway during landing.The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the collision. Forty-one passengers and crew were taken to hospital, with nine still receiving treatment as of Monday.A flight attendant was reportedly ejected from the aircraft during the collision, underscoring the force of the impact. According to NBC News, the crew member was found outside the plane still strapped into a jump seat after the crash. The aircraft’s nose section was sheared off in the collision, which killed both pilots. The CRJ-900 typically carries two flight attendants, leaving the remaining crew member responsible for assisting passengers in the immediate aftermath.Air traffic control audio reviewed after the incident indicates the fire truck had been cleared to cross the runway before the crash. In the recording, a controller can be heard saying, “I messed up.”Jack Cabot told Fox News the Jazz Aviation flight operated on behalf of Air Canada “came down really hard” around 11:40 p.m. and “stopped really quickly.”About two seconds later, “we just had an absolute, like, slam,” Cabot said.“Everybody was flying everywhere. The plane was sort of veering off left and right,” he said. “It was chaos. It didn’t feel like there was anybody in control.”.The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded flights at LaGuardia Airport following the incident.Investigators from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board are leading the probe, with assistance from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.Aviation experts say runway operations require close coordination between ground crews and air traffic controllers. Former air traffic controller Harvey Scolnick told CBC that such incidents are rare due to strict procedures governing runway crossings.Port Authority officials said the fire truck was responding to a separate incident involving another aircraft when it entered the runway.Canadian officials, including Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, expressed condolences to the families of the victims and said Canada is working with U.S. authorities as the investigation continues.Jazz Aviation president Doug Clarke also offered condolences, stating the company is co-operating fully with investigators.The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
