NEW YORK (AP) — An Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck on the runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday, crushing the plane’s nose, according to authorities and photos of the wreckage.
Officials did not immediately say how many people may have been injured or whether anyone died.
The plane was a Jazz Aviation flight operated on behalf of Air Canada and had 72 passengers and four crew members on board, according to a statement from the airline. The flight originated from Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, the main airport serving Montreal.
“At approximately 11:40 p.m. Sunday, a Jazz Air flight operated on behalf of Air Canada was involved in an incident on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport where the aircraft struck a Port Authority aircraft rescue and fire truck that was responding to another incident,” the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.
The statement noted that the Port Authority Police Department and the agency’s president and executive director were on scene at the airport runway and that the airport was closed while the accident was investigated.
Jazz Air issued a statement confirming the accident, noting that the passenger and crew lists were preliminary and awaited confirmation.
The flight originated from Montreal’s Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, the main airport serving Montreal, according to online flight tracker FlightAware.
Multiple videos captured by bystanders and posted on social media showed severe damage to the front of the plane. Images showed the badly damaged Air Canada plane illuminated by floodlights and emergency vehicles parked near the runway.
