A flight of Air Canada Express collided with a ground vehicle, which happened to be a fire truck, at the LaGuardia Airport prompting a panic inside the air traffic control (ATC) tower that immediately suspended the operations of the plane.
The accident is said to have taken place somewhere between Runway 4, even though official information on the accident is yet to be established. A recording taken by the ATC tower, which appeared on social media, captured intense moments in which the controllers desperately told the ground vehicle to halt. There were shouts of stop, stop, stop! which were repeated but the collision is said to have taken place in spite of the warnings.
Flightradar24 flight tracking platform captured the involved aircraft as a CRN-900 that was flown by Air Canada Express. In the aftermath of this event, the Federal Aviation Authority gave a ground-stop, which effectively stopped all passenger and cargo airline activities at the busy New York airport.
Flight tracking systems provided visual data that showed that controllers promptly used incoming flights to divert or avoid additional risk. The current aircraft in the area were advised to divert, as it was a safe route to prevent fatality to the passengers and the crew.
Although it is still to be officially confirmed whether there are any injuries or how much damage is caused, officials have initiated an inquiry to establish the cause of the crash. The incident has renewed doubts on safety protocols on the ground in major international airports, especially areas with big volumes of traffic such as LaGuardia.
Additional updates can be anticipated as the aviation authorities will still examine the situation and safety precautions.