What we know about the fatal Air Canada plane crash at LaGuardia Airport
Two pilots died in the collision
Two pilots are dead after an Air Canada Express plane flying from Montreal collided with a fire truck on the tarmac of LaGuardia Airport in New York late last night.
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Shortly before midnight, the aircraft had landed and was slowing down when it collided with a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle crossing the runway, reports CBS News. Images from the scene show that the impact sheared the cockpit of the plane off entirely.
The fire truck in question was responding to an emergency on another aircraft, United Airlines flight 2384. The pilots on that flight had aborted their takeoff upon seeing an anti-ice warning flash. They then reported an odour in the cabin and asked for assistance from firefighters, saying their flight attendants were feeling ill. That flight reported an emergency when no gates were immediately available.
The Air Canada flight, numbered as AC8646, was operated by Jazz Aviation. In a statement, the company said preliminary passenger lists indicated the plane was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members. Forty-one people, including two personnel from the truck, were taken to the hospital. As of this morning, 32 of them have since been released.
Anthony Milton is a freelance journalist based in Toronto specializing in long-form magazine writing. He previously worked as an assistant editor at Toronto Life, where he launched the Front Row newsletter. He regularly contributes all sorts of stories to the magazine, including deep dives on sports, business and housing as well as short-form commentary on our ever-changing city, from its obsession with cherry blossoms to its maddening NIMBYism. His work has also appeared in Maclean’s, Ricochet, TVO, the Trillium and more.
