LaGuardia Crash Kills Two Pilots As Trump Deploys ICE Agents
Two pilots were killed in a runway collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, an incident that forced its closure and intensified disruption across an already strained U.S. air travel system.
The crash between an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 and a firefighting vehicle injured dozens of passengers and led to hundreds of cancellations at the start of the working week. The aircraft, operated by Jazz Aviation, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members. Nine people were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
A flight attendant was found alive and strapped into her seat, which was outside of the plane, sources told BBC. The seat reportedly fell through a hole in the floor of the aircraft. The flight attendant has serious injuries, but they are not life threatening.
Airport Disruptions Worsen Nationwide
The incident added pressure to a system already facing staffing shortages and rising fuel costs. Ongoing budget disputes in Congress have left many Transportation Security Administration workers unpaid for weeks, leading to high absence rates and long queues at security checkpoints.
Travellers reported arriving hours early to avoid delays, with major hubs such as Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport heavily affected.
Immigration Agents Deployed To Airports
In response to growing congestion, U.S. authorities deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to multiple airports, including New York, Atlanta and Chicago. Officials said the agents were assisting with crowd control, though President Donald Trump said they could also carry out arrests, raising concerns among critics.
The move comes amid continued political deadlock in Washington, where disagreements over immigration policy and federal funding remain unresolved.
Investigation Underway Into Fatal Crash
Authorities said the collision occurred as the jet was landing and a fire truck was crossing the runway to respond to another aircraft reporting an issue. Air traffic control audio captured warnings to the vehicle moments before impact.
More than 570 flights were cancelled at LaGuardia, accounting for over half of its daily schedule. Nearby Newark Airport also experienced delays after a temporary evacuation of its control tower.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and other officials travelled to New York as investigators began examining the causes of the crash. Early indications suggest multiple factors may have contributed.
By Monday afternoon, one runway at LaGuardia had reopened, though delays continued to ripple across the network.
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