Live updates: Flights resume after 2 dead, dozens injured in Air Canada crash at LaGuardia
The pilot and co-pilot were killed, and 41 other people were injured, a Port Authority spokesperson said.
What we know
- The pilot and co-pilot were killed when an arriving passenger jet struck a Port Authority vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in New York City late last night, officials said.
- Forty-one people were injured in the collision and were treated in local hospitals, and 32 have been released, the Port Authority said. Some are seriously injured.
- The collision involved a Jazz Aviation flight operated on behalf of Air Canada. The plane was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members. The vehicle carried two people, both of whom were taken to the hospital but are expected to be released soon.
- The Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting truck was responding to unrelated reports of an “odor” on a United flight when it was struck at 11:40 last night, according to a Port Authority spokesperson.
- LaGuardia is now closed and won’t reopen until 2 p.m. today at the earliest as authorities investigate. The closure could be extended, and police have warned people to avoid the area.
Air Canada passenger seated at emergency exit says pilots’ actions saved lives
Emergency crews respond to an Air Canada Express plane on the tarmac after the plane collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Air Canada Express Flight 8646 and a fire truck collided on LaGuardia’s Runway 4 at around 11:45 p.m. yesterday, killing the two pilots and injuring about 40 people on board and two people in the truck, authorities say.
Officials haven’t released the identities of the two pilots who died yesterday, but passenger Rebecca Liquori said she felt them brake to try to slow the plane down ahead of the crash, protecting the 72 passengers and four crew members as much as they could.
“I’m just so appreciative that they were able to save us, but I’m just so sad that they weren’t able to make it home to their families,” she said, her voice breaking. “I wouldn’t be here had it not been for the pilot acting quickly.”
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the cockpit voice and flight data recorders were recovered from the plane. Homendy said a safety walkthrough had been done to ensure that investigators would be safe examining the wreckage.
FAA will give replay and analysis of crash event to NTSB
The NTSB has asked the Federal Aviation Administration for an Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE) replay of the event, Homendy said.
She said the data will look into what the display provided to the air traffic control tower at the time.
“We will be looking at that — where we can see where the aircraft was at certain times and whether the truck was visible on ASDE,” she said.
ASDE, the surveillance system air traffic controllers use to track the movements of aircraft and vehicles on runways, is critical to reducing incursions, according to the FAA. It’s equipped with alarms to alert about potential incursions or incidents.
“We’ll also be getting an ASDE analysis from the FAA tech center that will provide us information on whether alerts were generated and other data, including distance of the aircraft that was landing on Runway Four as the firefighting vehicle was approaching the runway from taxiway Delta,” Homendy said.
NTSB verifying information about air traffic control tower staffing
The NTSB is verifying the preliminary information about staffing in the air traffic control tower at the time of the crash before it shares it publicly, Homendy said.
The information could be released tomorrow, she said. Information about the backgrounds of the pilot and the co-pilot could be released tomorrow, as well, she said.
“We have to look at records. There are sign-in sheets. We have to do interviews. We have to look at time cards,” she said. “That is information we always have to corroborate.”
Earlier today, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was asked about viral rumors that only one air traffic controller was working in the tower at the time of the accident. “That’s not accurate,” he responded.
NTSB probe will look into the plane itself, air traffic control and airport operations
The investigation will span the operations of the aircraft, examine components of the plane and the flight control system and analyze the accident scene, air traffic control and airport operations, Homendy said.
She said investigators are continuing to collect video.
Cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder retrieved from wreckage
The NTSB today has done a walking inspection of the scene and appointed a site commander, Homendy told reporters.
“There is a tremendous, tremendous amount of debris” that poses an injury risk, she said, calling the scene “pretty expansive.”
She said in order to get to the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, Port Authority and emergency responders cut a hole in the roof of the aircraft and dropped down to secure both. Those were taken back to labs in Washington D.C. today.
“They’ve been able to at least verify that the cockpit voice recorder was not damaged,” she said.
NTSB says there have been challenges getting investigators to scene
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference tonight that there have been challenges getting investigators to the scene, given long security lines at airports and the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
The NTSB expects to have 25 specialists at the scene, and team members began to arrive at 3:10 a.m., but some remain en route.
“We have one of our air traffic control specialists who was in line with TSA for three hours until we called in Houston to beg to see if we can get her through so we can get her here. So it’s been a really, really big challenge to get the entire team here, and they’re still arriving as I speak,” Homendy said.
Air Canada collision is the first fatal crash at LaGuardia in over 30 years
The deadly collision is the first fatal crash at LaGuardia Airport in over three decades, officials said today.
“The Port Authority takes great pride in being able to work with all of our partners to deliver safety for the flying public, and it has been over 34 years since we had had an incident with a death at the airport,” Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani assured New Yorkers that the investigation will be thorough.
“I know that this crash has shaken New Yorkers across the five boroughs, whether they are traveling today or simply watching from home, especially since it’s the first fatal crash at LaGuardia in more than 30 years,” he said at the news conference at LaGuardia.
“I want New Yorkers to know that the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of this accident and that we will not rest until the conclusion of that investigation,” he said.
2 people on truck that collided with plane expected to leave hospital soon
The Port Authority vehicle that collided with the Air Canada plane was carrying two people, and both are expected to be released from the hospital soon, Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia told reporters.
The Port Authority later identified the men as Sgt. Michael Orsillo and Officer Adrian Baez.
“Both were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital,” Garcia said at the news conference today. “We expect one to be released later this afternoon and the other to be kept overnight for observation.”
Duffy says he’s asked Congress for more money for air traffic control
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he has been asking Congress “for additional money” for air traffic control.
“We’ve been modernizing our system, but we can’t fully modernize it until the Congress gives us the additional money,” he said at a news conference at LaGuardia today with officials to provide a brief update on the crash.
“It’s not a partisan issue, both Democrats and Republicans agree, but they have to have the will to finish the funding,” he said.
He continued: “I’m not saying the crash would have been prevented if we had all the equipment deployed, but it’s important, if we care about air travel safety, we care about having a brand new air traffic control system, the best in the world, with the best equipment virtually all of it developed here in America.”
Surveillance video shows moment of collision at LaGuardia Airport
Video captures the fatal crash between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport. The collision left two pilots dead and dozens injured.
NTSB investigators walk the scene of the crash
An image posted by the National Transportation Safety Board shows investigators inspecting the crashed Air Canada jet at the site of the collision on the LaGuardia runway.
LaGuardia reopens, first plane takes off since closure
LaGuardia Airport reopened a single runway at 2 p.m. ET, but warned travelers to expect delays and cancelations.
The first plane to take off since the airport’s closure after the fatal collision of an Air Canada jet with a vehicle on a runway was spotted by NBC News departing at around 2:08 p.m. ET
‘A very somber day’: Air Canada president releases video statement on collision
Air Canada President and CEO Michael Rousseau said he knows that people have a lot of questions, “but at this early stage, we do not have all the answers as the circumstances are still being assessed.”
Rousseau said in a video statement that 72 passengers and four crew members were on the plane. The pilot and co-pilot were killed. He said officials are working to confirm the number of injuries and “if there are any other fatalities.”
“Today is a very somber day at Air Canada,” he said. “First and most importantly, I want to express our deepest sorrow for everyone affected.
