Flight attendant sat on jump seat ejected from Air Canada plane after crash
An Air Canada flight attendant was ejected from the plane when it crashed into a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
Both the pilot and co-pilot were killed in the collision, while 41 passengers and crew members were taken to hospital on Sunday evening (22 March).
Two Port Authority employees travelling in the fire engine suffered injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
Among the injured was a female attendant ejected from Flight 8646 after it hit the truck on Runway 4 just before midnight.
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CNN reported that the woman was found strapped in the jump seat after it had been ejected towards the front of the plane.
It had reportedly fallen through a hole in the aircraft's floor. The employee was hurt, but is expected to survive.
The CRJ-900 aircraft travelling from Montreal to LaGuardia was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members on board. Nine remain hospitalised at the time of writing.
A Port Authority spokesperson said in a statement: "The pilot and co-pilot of the Jazz Aviation flight were pronounced deceased.
"Additionally, 41 people were transported to the hospital, 39 people on the aircraft and two ARFF officers.
"The National Transportation Safety Board is on site. The Port Authority Police Department is working closely with our airline partners as well as federal authorities, and will provide additional updates as more details become available."
Air Canada said: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of two Jazz employees, and our deepest condolences go out to the entire Jazz community and their families.
"Air Canada cannot confirm the exact number of injuries or if there are other fatalities at this time."
In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it.
"Stop, stop, stop, stop," the controller said. "Truck 1, stop, stop, stop. Stop, Truck 1. Stop.
"Jazz 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can’t move. Vehicles are responding to you now."
The controllers then told a Frontier flight bound for Miami to go around as the crash unfolded.
"We got stuff in progress for that, man, that wasn’t good to watch," Frontier pilots said.
The controller replied: "Yeah, I tried to reach out to ‘em… And we were dealing with an emergency, and I messed up."
Frontier crews said: "No, you did the best you could."
Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, said the National Transportation Safety Board 'is investigating the incident, and the City is in close contact with federal, state, and local partners'.
The airport is reopened at around 2pm local time today (23 March).
Anish Vij