Operations at New York’s LaGuardia Airport were suspended Monday night. The reason is the intervention of firefighters after an incident in which a plane and a vehicle collided on the runway. TASR informs about it based on the reports of AFP and NBC News.
- Operations at LaGuardia Airport were completely suspended overnight Monday.
- A plane and a vehicle collided on runway number four.
- Air Canada plane collides with Port Authority vehicle, four injured.
- The plane landed at a speed of approximately 48 kilometers per hour with seventy-six passengers.
- All Monday morning departures from LaGuardia were delayed or canceled.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an order for the airport to stop all flights, the so-called ground stop. At the same time, the office stated that it is “high probability” of an extension of this regulation. The New York Fire Department confirmed that at 23:38 local time (04:38 CET) it received report of an accident between an aircraft and a vehicle on runway number four. Details of the accident were not immediately available.
But NBC News, citing an informed source, said an Air Canada plane collided with a vehicle believed to belong to the Port of New York on the runway, injuring four people. There were 76 passengers and four crew members on board the plane. At the time of the crash, it was just landing and moving at a speed of approximately 48 km/h.
A video was posted on the social network TikTok showing the plane standing on the runway with its nose up and the bottom of the front fuselage deformed. The New York City Office of Emergency Management warned the public to expect canceled flights, road closures, traffic delays and the presence of emergency services around the Queens airport. At the same time, the office on the X social network advised drivers to use alternative routes.
As of Monday morning, all departures from LaGuardia were either delayed or canceled, according to the airport’s website. Operations at LaGuardia Airport were already limited on Sunday due to inclement weather. Last week, the airport reported that travelers must expect longer waits at security checkpoints due to a shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff. Its cause is a shortfall in federal funding for the TSA.
