(Bloomberg) — Air traffic controllers were helping a fire truck crew navigate a rain-soaked tarmac in New York’s LaGuardia just before midnight Sunday when panic suddenly broke out.
The crew was called to inspect the United Airlines Holdings Inc. aircraft. preparing to start. The drama that followed quickly became the latest in a series of deadly US air disasters.
“Stop, stop, stop, stop, Truck 1, stop, stop, stop,” the controller is heard saying around 11:37 p.m. New York time. “Stop truck 1 stop! Stop truck 1 stop!” the controller continues, getting more and more frantic.
What sounds like the same controller then instructs the incoming Delta Air Lines Inc. plane to perform a go-around, an aerial maneuver in which the pilot aborts the landing and climbs back to a safe altitude. The driver quickly turns to the Air Canada Express plane, operated by Jazz Aviation LP, and confirms that the plane has hit the truck on the ground.
“I see you collided with a vehicle there. Just hold your position. I know you can’t move. The vehicles are reacting to you now,” he said.
Nearly 20 minutes later, around 11:55 p.m. New York time, what appears to be the same controller can be heard discussing the airport’s closure after the collision with the pilot of the Frontier Group Holdings Inc. flight.
“That wasn’t good to watch,” the pilot can be heard saying over the sound of air traffic.
The driver replies that he tried to stop the truck, adding: “We were dealing with an emergency earlier.
Pictures posted on social media show a gruesome scene with wires and other debris hanging from the front of the plane. The aircraft initially stood crippled in its normal position before pitching onto its tail as the nose came loose.
Both the pilot and co-pilot were pronounced dead at the scene. Another 41 people were taken to the hospital, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. There were about 76 people on board, including passengers and crew.
The tragedy followed a series of deadly aviation disasters last year, including a mid-air collision between a regional commercial jet and a U.S. military helicopter near Washington that killed 67 people, and the fiery crash of a United Parcel Service Inc. cargo plane that killed more than a dozen people on board and on the ground.
Videos and photos of the LaGuardia crash show the rescue vehicle, which the Port Authority said was one of its air rescue and fire trucks, flipped onto its side. The truck was responding to a United Airlines plane that was preparing to take off. The jet declared an emergency after flight attendants reported feeling sick due to a smell coming from the back of the plane.
The weather station at LaGuardia reported light rain with winds of 8 miles per hour from the east-northeast at 11 p.m. and similar conditions at midnight, but with light fog that reduced visibility to 4 miles, said James Tomasini, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New York.
It is still unclear what the total number of victims of the accident will be. The cause of the collision will be determined based on a comprehensive investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board, which usually takes several months.
There have been incidents in the past of aircraft colliding with catering trucks and other types of vehicles while taxiing, but these events often occur at very low speeds and rarely result in fatalities.
These events fall under a broad category of safety incidents known as runway incursions, which can range from relatively innocuous events such as a pilot slightly overstepping the painted lines at which he should stop before entering the runway, but there are no landing or departing aircraft nearby that pose an immediate safety risk, to more serious situations such as collisions.
The US Federal Aviation Administration reported 97 runway incursions in January, according to the latest available data posted on its website.
The NTSB sends a team to investigate the collision at LaGuardia Airport. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy will be the spokeswoman for the tragedy at the scene, according to a post on social media platform X.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford also said Monday on social media that they were heading to the airport.
–With assistance from Brian K. Sullivan, Dave Merrill, Lorelei Smillie, and Siddharth Philip.
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