What we know about the LaGuardia Airport crash

[Image from here is not available to guests]

Two pilots have died after a passenger plane collided with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Photos from the scene show the plane tilting backwards with its cockpit almost sheared off. The fire truck is on its side, surrounded by debris, wreckage and warped metal.

Authorities said 41 people had been taken to hospital, with 31 later discharged but others suffering from serious injuries.

Here's what we know.

What happened?

At around 23:40 local time (03:40 GMT) on Sunday, shortly after Air Canada flight AC8646 had landed from Montreal, it collided with a firefighting vehicle on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport.

The truck had been called minutes earlier to a separate incident on board another plane which had "reported an issue with odour", according to Port Authority executive director Kathryn Garcia.

In audio from the air traffic control tower at LaGuardia, a staff member can be heard saying: "'Truck One, stop, stop, stop!" in the seconds before the crash.

"We were literally like 100 meters away," 23-year-old eyewitness Leo Medina told the BBC. "It was like the plane got cut in half."

After the collision took place, authorities "immediately responded", Garcia said.

An investigation is now underway to determine what happened. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be looking at the speed the plane was moving, the staffing of the air traffic control tower at the time, and if anybody was ejected from the aircraft, according to Garcia.

Who are the victims?

The aircraft – a CRJ 900 model - was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members.

The identities of the two pilots who died have not yet been made public.

All others on board the plane have been accounted for, Garcia said, while adding that the sergeant and police officer who were inside the firefighting vehicle were in a stable condition in hospital "with no life-threatening injuries".

"I visited them both in the hospital, as has the chairman, and they were able to speak and we're notifying their families," said Garcia.

Mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani said he had "been briefed on the tragic collision".

"I am grateful to our first responders, whose swift actions saved lives," he said. He added that the NTSB "is investigating the incident, and the City is in close contact with federal, state, and local partners".

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the incident "heartbreaking". She added: "Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected."

How will travel be affected?

LaGuardia Airport is one of the busiest airports in the US, with over 32 million passengers passing through in the last 12 months. It is currently closed, and the earliest it could reopen is 14:00 ET (18:00 GMT) on Monday, authorities have said.

The majority of flights listed on its website on Monday morning were labelled as cancelled, with a small number listed as delayed. Hundreds of flights are affected, with carriers including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and Air Canada.

Earlier, LaGuardia Airport authorities released a statement stating that "emergency response protocols were immediately activated" after the crash, with the agency's chairman and executive director on the scene with Port Authority police.

The New York City Police Department said people should "expect delays and avoid the area if possible".

"Due to an emergency incident at LaGuardia Airport, all streets and highway exits into the airport are closed until further notice."

The New York City Fire Department told people to "expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and emergency personnel near LaGuardia Airport".

"Use alternate routes," it posted on X.