Wetin happen for New York LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night na serious matter wey make many people fear. One Air Canada Express flight wey dey come from Montreal, Canada, carry 76 people inside – 72 passengers and 4 crew members – when e dey land for runway 4, e collide with one fire truck wey dey cross the same runway. The crash damage the plane well well, especially the front part wey include the cockpit.
According to reports wey come out, the two pilots for the plane – the pilot and co-pilot – die for the accident. Some passengers get injury but dem no die. The plane na CRJ-900LR model wey don dey fly for about 20 years, according to Flightradar24 records. Jazz Aviation LP, the company wey dey operate the flight for Air Canada, confirm say the incident happen around 11:47 pm.
One audio recording from air traffic control (ATC) wey surface online show serious panic for the control tower. Dem hear how ATC officials dey shout “stop, stop, stop, stop Truck 1” multiple times, but the ground vehicle no stop. The recording show say “truck one and company” don request to cross runway 4 before the Air Canada jet come dey land. One voice wey dem no identify, likely na air traffic controller, tell truck one to “cross 4 at delta” before the urgent stop warnings begin.
After the collision happen, the same controller tell the pilots: “I see you collided with a vehicle there. Just hold position. I know you can’t move. Vehicles responding to you now.” Immediately after the crash, ATC instruct other planes wey dey nearby to abort their landing and circle back. Emergency protocols activate and runway operations stop completely.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirm say the incident involve one ground vehicle wey dey cross the runway at the time of landing. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) impose ground stop for LaGuardia Airport, meaning no flights fit land there. Dem say the closure fit last for several hours because of the emergency situation.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announce say dem go launch investigation team on Monday to look into the collision. This accident na the third major commercial aviation accident for US soil for just 15 months. For January 2025, one American Airlines Group Inc. regional jet collide with military helicopter near Washington, and nobody survive. For November, one United Parcel Service Inc. cargo jet crash and explode shortly after takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky.
NTSB dey also investigate close call for Newark Liberty Airport last week where one Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 overfly one FedEx Boeing 777 while both jets dey try to land on crossing runways. Runway incursions no too rare for US airports – according to FAA, dem record 97 such incidents for January alone. But Sunday Air Canada incident fit be the worst since 2024 collision between Japan Airlines jet and Japanese coastguard plane for Tokyo Haneda Airport runway.
For US officials, this incident add to series of fatal accidents and near-misses wey make Transport Secretary Sean Duffy implement radical reforms of US air traffic control technology and workforce to boost safety standards. These reforms go cost billions of dollars. Poor weather don cause flight disruptions for LaGuardia earlier on Sunday before this accident happen.
Authorities no release full details about wetin cause the collision yet, but investigation dey ongoing. Dem dey work to manage the aftermath and ensure passenger safety. Visuals from the scene show significant damage to the aircraft as emergency responders dey work for the area.
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