Plane collides with vehicle at LaGuardia Airport; at least 4 hurt, including 2 PAPD officers

A plane landing at LaGuardia Airport collided with a vehicle on a runway, leading to injuries to police officers and the pilots involved, according to emergency officials.

The collision occurred after 11:30 p.m. Sunday at the Queens airport, FDNY officials said. Preliminary details of an investigation showed that an Air Canada plane was nearing the end of its landing procedure when it collided with a Port Authority firetruck manned by police officers, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

At least four people were injured, including two Port Authority police officers, who were taken to area hospitals, two sources told NBC New York. The two PAPD members — a sergeant and an officer — suffered broken bones in the collision, but were expected to recover.

There were four crew members onboard the plane, along with 76 passengers, according to sources. The pilot and the co-pilot were severely injured, sources said, but no further information regarding their conditions was immediately available.

No passengers were believed to have been hurt.

Two sources said the plane, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada that had taken off from Montreal, was travelling about 30 mph at the time it collided with the vehicle at Runway 4. When taxiing, planes typically travel about 5 mph.

A Port Authority spokesperson said the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle was responding to a separate incident at the time of the collision.

City officials said to expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and a heavy FDNY presence near LaGuardia as a result of the incident, advising those on the roads to avoid the area. The airport was put under a full ground stop and is expected to remain closed until 2 p.m. Monday.

AP Photo/Ryan Murphy

AP Photo/Ryan Murphy

What caused the collision was not immediately clear. An investigation is ongoing. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information regarding the situation. It did not provide any other details early Monday.

The collision occurred following an evening featuring bands of heavy rain across the New York City area. Video footage from the scene showed water on the tarmac as a result of the rain, but it wasn’t clear whether rain or weather conditions played a role in the incident.

Visibility dropped to about three miles at the time of the collision, with rain and mist coming down.

Nor was it clear whether staffing at the airport played any sort of role in the collision. It comes after the Department of Homeland Security said more than 400 Transportation Security Administration workers had quit since a partial government shutdown that began on Feb. 14 left them working without pay. Air traffic control unions for years have also complained of a lack of staffing.