An Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck after landing at New York’s LaGuardia airport, with U.S. media reporting that at least four people were critically injured.
The CRJ-900 aircraft was arriving from Montreal with nearly 80 passengers when it struck the vehicle at a speed of about 24mph, Flightradar24 said.
In the wake of the crash, all flights at the airport were stopped until 2pm EST on Monday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said.
It said the closure was due to an emergency and that there was a "high" likelihood that the order would be extended.
open image in galleryFootage on social media appeared to show significant damage to the nose of the aircraft, which was tilted upward as the emergency crew worked on the scene.
The incident occurred just before 11.40pm on Sunday night on Runway 4, local media reported.
LaGuardia’s website showed arriving flights getting diverted to other airports or returning to their points of origin.
The New York Fire Department said it was responding to a reported incident involving a plane and a vehicle on the runway at LaGuardia, but did not provide further details.
open image in galleryThe injured included two Port Authority police officers, one of them a sergeant and an officer, who were taken to hospitals to receive treatment for broken bones, NBC New York reported.
The pilot and the co-pilot were badly injured, unnamed sources told the outlet, with their condition at the hospital unknown.
The plane involved in the crash was operated by Air Canada's regional partner Jazz, which is owned by Chorus Aviation.
New York City's emergency notification system said that the public could expect flight cancellations, road closures, traffic delays, and emergency personnel near the airport.
Jazz's CRJ-900 planes can seat up to 76 passengers, according to Air Canada's website. There were around 76 passengers and four crew members on board the flight involved in the crash, NBC News reported.
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