An Air Canada Express plane collided with a ground vehicle while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night (22). According to a statement from the regulatory agency FAA (United States Federal Aviation Administration), an order was issued to suspend all air operations at the airport.
According to Reuters, at least 4 people were injured. Among them, the plane’s pilot and co-pilot were seriously injured.
The CRJ-900 aircraft, which came from Montreal, hit the vehicle at a speed of around 39 km/h. The jet was operated by Jazz Aviation, Air Canada’s regional partner. The New York City Fire Department reported that it responded to an incident involving an airplane and a vehicle at around 11:38 pm local time.
The LaGuardia website shows that planes approaching to land at the airport were diverted to other alternatives or returned to their departure location. Before the accident, LaGuardia had warned of possible weather conditions, with rain and fog hitting the region.
The order to suspend all air operations in , issued by the FAA, remains in effect until 1:30 am on Monday (23), local time, according to a statement from the regulatory body. The FAA statement indicated that the reason for the suspension was an emergency and that there was a high probability of an extension, without specifying details.
In a separate statement to pilots, the FAA informed that the airport could remain closed until 6 pm.
The NTSB (United States National Transportation Safety Board) informed the CNN who received notification of the incident but was unable to provide further information.
*with information from CNN and Reuters
