March 23 (Reuters) - An Air Canada Express regional jet collided with a ground vehicle upon landing at New York's LaGuardia airport late on Sunday, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24, in an incident that closed the airport.
Air Canada Express jet collides with a ground vehicle at LaGuardia airport
The CRJ-900 plane, which was coming from Montreal, struck the vehicle at a speed of about 24 miles per hour (39 kph), said Flightradar24, which last recorded data at 11:37 p.m. ET (0337 GMT).
Photos taken by Reuters after the accident showed visible damage to the nose of the plane, which was tilted upward.
NBC News reported that four people were injured in the incident, which involved a fire truck manned by police officers, citing sources. The report said the pilot and copilot of the aircraft were badly injured, while a sergeant and an officer had broken limbs and were in stable condition at a hospital.
Authorities and emergency agencies did not offer any immediate comments on injuries.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the airport was expected to remain shut until 2 p.m. ET on Monday (1800 GMT), and LaGuardia's website showed arriving planes had been diverted to other airports or returned to their point of origin.
Advertisement
The plane involved in the accident was operated by Air Canada's regional partner Jazz, which is owned by Chorus Aviation. Jazz's CRJ-900 planes can seat up to 76 passengers, according to Air Canada's website. NBC News reported 76 passengers and four crew members were on board.
Air Canada, Chorus Aviation, the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The New York Fire Department said that it was responding to a reported incident at the airport's Runway 4 involving a plane and a vehicle at LaGuardia airport, directing further queries to Port Authority Police, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
New York City's emergency notification system said people could expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and emergency personnel near the airport.
LaGuardia served over 30 million annual passengers in 2025, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a wide range of U.S. airlines operate at the airport.
(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru and David Shephardson in Washington; Editing by Jamie Freed)
