Two dead after jet collides with fire truck, shuts down LaGuardia Airport

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Two pilots died on Sunday night when an Air Canada Jet and a fire truck collided on a runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. The jet carried 72 passengers and four crew members, and the fire truck carried two officers, according to Executive Director of the New York and New Jersey Port Authority Kathryn Garcia.

Preliminary numbers showed 41 of the passengers and crew were hospitalized, and 32 of those hospitalized had been released, she told reporters Monday morning. Garcia identified the two officers inside the fire truck as a sergeant and a police officer who were hospitalized. Garcia said she visited them in the hospital, and that both suffered non-life-threatening injuries and had stabilized.

What is known about the crash? The jet had just landed when the crash occurred, Garcia said. The fire truck was responding to a separate pilot who requested support after multiple takeoff attempts, she added. The accident occurred around 11:40 p.m. local time with a jet arriving from Montreal, according to a Monday statement from the Federal Aviation Administration. The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation, the FAA added. NTSB investigators are scheduled to arrive on the scene Monday, according to a Monday NTSB statement. When asked, Garcia also confirmed that all movement on runways or taxiways must be cleared by the control tower.

What are people saying?

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was traveling to the crash site and requested prayers for the victims' families and those responding to the tragedy, according to a Monday statement.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul released a Monday morning statement acknowledging the tragedy and sharing that the airport will remain closed until at least 2 p.m. local time. Officials would continue sharing updates when available, she added.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, released a Monday morning statement emphasizing the importance of airport safety. Cruz planned to work with the FAA and NTSB to investigate what caused the incident, he said.