New York’s LaGuardia Airport closed after arriving plane and ground vehicle collide

New York’s La Guardia Airport was closed late Sunday night after an arriving Air Canada Express plane and ground vehicle collided, authorities said.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for the airport until at last 2 p.m.

A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, told CBS News “a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada was involved in an incident” on a runway in which the aircraft hit a PA firefighting vehicle “that was responding to a separate incident.”

CBS News senior transportation and national correspondent Kris Van Cleave reported that pilots of United Airlines flight 2384 aborted its takeoff when an anti-ice warning light come on. They reported an odor in the cabin and requested that firefighters come to assist. The pilots said flight attendants were feeling ill and declared an emergency when no gates were immediately available.  

Van Cleave said the Air Canada plane, Flight 8646 coming in from Montreal, had landed and was slowing down, going 24 mph, when it collided with the PA vehicle. He said the collision probably occurred as passengers were getting off at the back of the airliner.

The Air Canada plane suffered significant damage, Van Cleave said, adding that it was a CRJ 900 — a smaller plane. Jazz Aviation said it had 72 passengers and 4 crew members “although this is subject to confirmation.”  

Air traffic controllers apparently tried to stop the firefighting vehicle, recordings Van Cleave listened to revealed.

The big question, Van Cleave says, is what the communication breakdown was that allowed the vehicle to be on the runway as the plane was landing. 

Significant delays and cancellations are expected as the morning goes on, Van Cleave pointed out.

The National Transportation Safety Board said was “launching a go team” to investigate the crash.