Operations at New York’s LaGuardia Airport have resumed after a shutdown triggered by a fatal tarmac crash involving a regional Air Canada jet and an airport fire engine.
The aircraft, Flight 8646 operated by Jazz Aviation under the Air Canada brand, was landing at around 11:30 p.m. Sunday when it struck an emergency response vehicle from the airport’s firefighting unit, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Authorities said 76 people were on board, including 72 passengers and four crew members, on a flight from Montréal-Trudeau International Airport.
According to BBC, both pilots were killed in the crash, while 41 others were taken to the hospital for treatment.
The deceased pilots were identified as Antoine Forest, 30, from Québec, and Mackenzie Gunther, a 2023 graduate of Toronto’s Seneca Polytechnic.
“These were two young men at the start of their careers, so it’s an absolute tragedy,” Federal Aviation Administration administrator Bran Bedford said.
In a rare survival case, crew member Solange Tremblay was reportedly thrown from the aircraft and found alive about 100 metres from the wreckage, still strapped to her seat. She sustained multiple broken bones.
Her daughter, Sarah Lépine, told TVA Nouvelles that Tremblay had been seated just behind the cockpit during landing.
“It’s a complete miracle. She had a guardian angel watching over her. It could have been much worse,” she said.