The accident occurred on March 23, when the plane landed at LaGuardia Airport in New York, according to US officials and media.
The CRJ-900 aircraft operated by partner Jazz Aviation carried 72 passengers and 4 crew members, departing from Montreal (Canada). The collision occurred when the plane landed at a speed of about 39 km/h. Images at the scene show that the nose of the plane was clearly damaged and uplifted.
Accordingly, the captain and co-pilot of the Air Canada Express jet were killed, and dozens of others were injured in the incident.
The fire truck hit by the plane was on duty handling another incident on runway No. 4. Sources said that the vehicle was driven by police officers, including a sergeant and an officer with a broken bone but in stable condition at the hospital.
New York and New Jersey Port Authorities confirmed that fire trucks were responding to a separate incident when a collision occurred. Authorities and emergency forces have not yet commented immediately on the number of deaths and injuries.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said LaGuardia airport had to close and is expected to be closed until 2 pm on the same day. Data from Flightradar24 shows that at least 18 flights had to divert to other airports in the New York area or return to their departure points.
New York City's emergency notification system warned people about the possibility of flight cancellations, road blockades and traffic jams around the airport area, and there was a dense presence of rescue forces.
LaGuardia Airport serves more than 30 million passengers each year and is the operating location of many airlines in the US. The cause of the accident is currently under investigation.
