An alleged audio clip from the Air Traffic Control (ATC) has surfaced after Air Canada Flight 8646, a CRJ-900 plane, collided with a ground vehicle – likely a fire truck at LaGuardia airport. The incident happened in New York on Sunday. There were 72 passengers and 4 crew members on the plane. Sources told NBC News that the pilot and co-pilot have been killed.
Scary visuals of the crash emerged online, along with ATC audio that was shared on the Flightradar 24 group on Facebook.
Laguardia Air Canada crash: ATC audio emerges
A person could be heard saying “I messed up” in the alleged audio.
The audio begins with someone in the ATC saying they got word “we're going to be closed for a little while”. The ATC controller tells the flight if the pilot wants to return to the ramp then to let him know.
{{/usCountry}}The audio begins with someone in the ATC saying they got word “we're going to be closed for a little while”. The ATC controller tells the flight if the pilot wants to return to the ramp then to let him know.
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“That wasn't pretty to watch,” a voice on the audio can be heard saying to the ATC person. “Yeah, I know…we were dealing with an emergency earlier and I messed up,” the ATC person can be heard saying in the alleged video. Another clip surfaced capturing the panic as an ATC official could be heard saying “STOP, STOP, STOP.”
A third audio clip was also shared. It appeared to indicate at a conversation with the ATC where it was said the airport ‘would be closed all night’. HT.com could not independently verify the authenticity of the clips.
LaGuardia Air Canada crash: Details and updates
Global flight tracker, Flightradar24, posted on X that the LaGuardia airport was closed after the Air Canada Express plane, CRJ-900, collided with a ground vehicle.
As per authorities, the Air Canada flight crashed with a Port Authority vehicle after it landed at the airport. The New York Police Department confirmed the crash but did not immediately offer additional information.
The CRJ-900 plane was coming from Montreal and struck the vehicle at a speed of about 24 miles per hour (39 kph), Flightradar24 said. The jet was operated by Jazz Aviation, Air Canada's regional partner, as per Reuters.
Meanwhile a New York City Fire Department spokesperson told Associated Press that firefighters responded to reports of a plane that crashed into a vehicle on the runway at 11:38 p.m.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a ground stop until 0530 GMT. French news service AFP reported, adding that there was a "high" likelihood that the ground stop order for LaGuardia would be extended.
Meanwhile, LaGuardia's website showed arriving planes had been diverted to other airports or returned to their point of origin.
(With Reuters and AP inputs)