Air Canada plane from Montreal crashes in NY, claims lives of pilots

An Air Canada plane traveling from Montreal crashed at LaGuardia Airport in New York, killing both the pilot and the co-pilot, and injuring 41 passengers and crew. The crash happened on the runway at about 11:40 p.m. Sunday night. The front of the Bombardier CRJ-900 was mangled in the crash.

It’s an incident that seems to have stemmed from human error. A Port Authority airport rescue fire truck had been responding to the scene of another possible incident, reports of an odour on another airplane operated by United, and had been given clearance to drive across the runway – a taxi-way – where the Air Canada flight had landed, still traveling at speeds of at least 100 km/h.

In control tower audio, the drivers of the firetruck can be heard requesting clearance to “cross 4 at Delta,” referring to the taxi-way where the crash occurred. The control tower then gives clearance, but then just moments later the same voice is heard saying “Stop stop stop stop stop stop.” The New York Post reports that the air traffic control was later heard saying “I messed up.”

The plane was operated by Jazz, and had left Montreal Sunday night carrying four crew and 72 passengers, including one unaccompanied minor, who has been reunited with his family. Many of the passengers are said to have been members of the Chassidic community from New York.

Most of the passengers that had been transported to two hospitals have been released.

The incident is under investigation. LaGuardia Airport will remain closed, with several hundred flights cancelled, until at least 2 p.m. this afternoon, which means that all flights out of Trudeau Airport destined for LaGuardia have been cancelled.

The Suburban has no information at this time about the passengers’ identities.