Air Canada flight crash at New York’s LaGuardia Airport: Plane crushed after colliding with fire engine

A plane carrying 76 people has been crushed after crashing into a fire engine. The Air Canada flight struck the vehicle on the runway of New York’s LaGuardia Airport, authorities have confirmed.

There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the plane, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, the airline said. However, officials did not immediately say how many people may have been injured or whether anyone was killed in the incident on Sunday night (March 23).

According to data from online flight tracker FlightAware, the flight originated at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement: “At approximately 11.40pm on Sunday (3.40am on Monday GMT), a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada was involved in an incident on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in which the aircraft struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident.”

The Port Authority Police Department and the agency’s chairman and executive director are at the scene on the runway of the airport, which is closed while the accident is investigated, the statement added.

The preliminary passenger and crew list released by Jazz Aviation is subject to confirmation, the regional airline said in a statement confirming the incident.

The severe damage to the aircraft has been shown in multiple videos taken by bystanders and posted on social media. The plane can be seen illuminated by floodlights with a number of emergency vehicles parked nearby on the runway.