Pilot and co-pilot dead after plane crashes into fire engine at New York airport

A pilot and co-pilot have died after a plane crashed into a fire engine on a runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, with several others injured.

Around 11.40pm local time on Sunday (3.40am GMT), the Air Canada jet hit the vehicle, which had been responding to a separate incident, crushing the front nose of the plane, authorities said.

Two people inside the fire and rescue truck were injured in the crash. They, along with 37 others, were taken to hospital, some with serious injuries.

There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to a statement from the airline.

Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport said the pilot and copilot were both based out of Canada.

The airport is set to remain closed until Monday afternoon to facilitate the investigation.

Emergency services remained at the scene early on Monday. / Credit: AP

The flight had set off from Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, the major airport serving Montreal, just over an hour before the crash.

The plane was going about 130 miles per hour just before the collision, according to the last data point collected before the collision by Flightradar24.

Ms Garcia said the vehicle was traveling across the runway to respond to a separate incident aboard a United Airlines flight, whose pilot had reported “an issue with odour”.

In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it.

“Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” the transmission says. The controller can then be heard frantically diverting an incoming aircraft from landing.

Multiple videos taken by bystanders and posted on social media showed the jet with severe damage to the front of the aircraft.

Pictures show the severely damaged Air Canada plane illuminated by floodlights and emergency vehicles parked nearby on the runway.