LaGuardia Collision between Plane, Fire Truck Kills 2 Pilots, Injures Dozens

New York, NY (WorkersCompensation.com) – A collision between an airplane and a firetruck at LaGuardia left two pilots dead and dozens injured Sunday.

A regional Air Canada jet was taxiing down the runway when it collided with a fire truck that was responding to another incident. The collision killed both pilots and sent 43 others to the hospital, out of the 72 passengers and four crew members.

Officials said the Air Canada flight had just arrived from Montreal and was taxiing down the taxiway. At the same time, the Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle was returning from helping another aircraft that had suffered an aborted takeoff, Federal Aviation Administrator Bryan Bedford said. That vehicle had also been cleared by the air traffic controller

Shortly after permission was granted however, an air traffic controller told the firetruck to stop. Audio of the air traffic control room indicated an air traffic controller told the vehicle to stop several times right before the collision.

“Stop, truck 1, stop!” the controller says again, according to the audio.

How the truck responded to his directions is unclear.

Later, the two unidentified air traffic controllers were heard on the audio recording discussing the incident.

“I got the word that we’re gonna be closed for a little while” one said before the other noted, “That wasn’t good to watch.”

“Yeah, I know. I was there,” the first controller said. “I was trying to reach out to ‘em to stop. We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up.”

The other controller said, “Nah, man, you did the best you could.”

Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said 43 people were taken to the hospital after the Jazz Aviation plane struck the rescue and firefighting vehicle. The crash demolished the front of the airplane, killing two pilots and injuring others. Law enforcement and aviation officials said the airport would shut down. A Port Authority spokesperson said two of the injured people were on the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting firetruck.

Officials said one of the flight’s crew members survived being ejected from the plane.

Solange Tremblay suffered multiple bone fractures and was hospitalized for a broken leg after being ejected more than 320 feet from the plane. Her daughter, Sarah Lepine, said her mother had been strapped into her seat behind the pilots when the collision occurred.

“It’s a complete miracle. At the moment of impact, her seat was ejected more than 100 meters from the plane. They found her and she was still strapped into her seat,” Lépine told TVA News. “She had a guardian angel watching over her. It could have been much worse.”

According to Lépine, Tremblay will undergo surgery at the hospital.

Sources with WNBC said Tremblay was in the jump seat at the front of the plane, and following the crash she was found strapped in her seat on the runway, ejected from the aircraft.

“Emergency response protocols were immediately activated,” officials at LaGuardia Airport said.”

Most of those injured and sent to the hospital have since been released, the Port Authority 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 said in a statement on Monday. "Air Canada cannot confirm the exact number of injuries or if there are other fatalities at this time… Air Canada and Jazz Aviation are cooperating with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States in the investigation of the cause of this incident.

An investigation by the FAA is ongoing. Officials said investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board had difficulty getting to the crash because of lines at the airport caused by TSA delays.

Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, said long security lines at other airports delayed the travel for some of the more than two dozen specialists who will take part in the investigation. Some of the investigators are not expected to arrive until Tuesday. Some NTSB officials had to “beg” TSA to help one investigator who waited in line for three hours in Houston, Homendy said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary deferred questions about how many controllers were on duty to the NTSB.

“As our airports go, LaGuardia is a very well-staffed airport,” Duffy said. “We are a couple controllers short in total, but it is a very well-staffed airport.”

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