An Air Canada plane was involved in a collision late Sunday at new York City’s LaGuardia Airport. Photo by Graham Hughes/EPA
An Air Canada regional jet with nearly 80 people onboard collided with an emergency vehicle at LaGuardia Airport, prompting federal officials to halt air traffic to and from the airport.
The ground stop was ordered by the FAA at 12:04 a.m. EST, according to a statement from its Air Traffic Control System Command Center.
The order had a “high” probability of being extended, it said.
The plane struck the Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle on Runway 4 late Sunday as it was responding to a separate, unknown incident, the Port Authority for New York and New Jersey, which operates LaGuardia, told UPI in a statement.
The extent of the collision and whether there were any casualties was unclear early Monday.
“The airport is currently closed to facilitate the response and allow for a thorough investigation,” according to the Port Authority.
The Port Authority said emergency response protocols were activated and its police force was at the scene working with airline and federal authorities.
The New York Fire Department confirmed to UPI that it had responded to an incident.
Air Canada confirmed to UPI that it was aware of the crash involving Air Canada Express Flight 8646 from Montreal, Canada, to New York City.
The flight was operated by Jazz Aviation, which said in a statement that the incident occurred at 11:47 p.m. EST Sunday. The plane was carrying 72 passengers and four crew, the Halifax-based airline said.
New York City’s official Emergency Notification System has issued an alert warning residents to expect “cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and emergency personnel near LaGuardia Airport.”
Flight 8646, a Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR, had departed from Montreal at about 10:35 p.m. EST, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
UPI has contacted the New York City Police Department for comment.
This is a breaking story.
