The pilot and co-pilot of an Air Canada Express regional jet were killed after it collided with a fire truck while landing at New York's LaGuardia airport on Monday in an incident that closed the airport, authorities and US media said.
The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the collision, US media including CNN and NBC reported. Another 13 people, including 11 passengers and two first responders, were taken to the hospital with injuries, according to broadcaster ABC.
The news channel, citing sources, said that the fire truck was manned by police officers. Earlier, NBC News reported a sergeant and an officer had broken limbs and were in stable condition at a hospital.
The aircraft, operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Air Canada, struck a firefighting vehicle on a runway just before midnight local time as it responded to a separate incident, New York's port authority said.
A preliminary passenger list showed the 76 people onboard included four crew members, Jazz Aviation said in a statement.
US aviation authorities ordered all flights at the airport to be grounded, adding there was a "high" likelihood of an extended suspension.
The aircraft struck the fire vehicle at a speed of about 39 km/h, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.
Photos taken after the accident showed visible damage to the nose of the plane, which was tilted upward.
Authorities and emergency agencies did not offer any immediate comments on deaths or injuries.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the airport was expected to remain shut until 2pm local time on Monday. More than a dozen flights were diverted to other airports, mostly in the New York area, or returned to their point of origin, according to FlightRadar24.
Air Canada referred Reuters to Jazz's statement and said it was aware of the incident. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
New York City's emergency notification system said people could expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and emergency personnel near the airport.
Located in the New York borough of Queens, LaGuardia is New York's third-busiest airport, serving 33.5 million passengers in 2024, according to port authority figures.
It completed an $8 billion redevelopment in 2024, upgrading its ageing infrastructure with new terminals and roadways.
Deadly air crashes in the United States in recent years include a collision between a passenger jet and an army helicopter near Washington in January 2025 that killed 67 people.
Other incidents and close calls have taken place while aircraft were on the ground.
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