Officials confirm 45 injured in LaGuardia crash involving plane and fire truck

At least 45 people were injured when an Air Canada Express regional jet arriving from Montreal collided with a Port Authority fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, according to officials. The crash killed both pilots.

The collision happened at about 11:45 p.m. Sunday as the CRJ900, operated for Air Canada Express by Jazz Aviation, was arriving at the airport, according to federal officials. The plane was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members.

Kathryn Garcia, the executive director of LaGuardia Airport, said FDNY and NYPD transported 43 people from the plane to hospitals during the night, though many had already been released. She said the two people in the fire truck were also hospitalized, bringing the total number of injured to 45.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said conditions at the airport included rain, mist and fog. He said the fire and rescue crew had been deployed after a United Airlines aircraft aborted takeoff, and the Air Canada flight was arriving on Runway 4 when the collision happened at the Delta intersection.

Bedford said the two pilots were young men at the start of their careers. Canadian media identified one of them as Antoine Forest. The identity of the second pilot has not been confirmed publicly.

The NTSB will lead the investigation into the cause of the collision.