Photos reveal scope of Air Canada crash devastation and chaos

Images from New York’s LaGuardia Airport where an Air Canada jet hit a fire truck on the runway reveal a scene of devastation on the ground and chaos in the terminal.

The crash happened late Sunday night, and the first images to come from the crash site are bathed in the light of runway floodlights and emergency vehicles, which quickly clustered around the crash site.

The plane, a CRJ-900, can be seen resting at extreme angle, with the back of the tail touching the ground and the nose several metres in the air.

The cockpit has been nearly demolished, with damage extending as far back as the first passenger window, and a trail of exposed wires and other debris hanging down to the ground. On the tarmac under the fuselage of the plane can be seen luggage and other objects that have fallen from the wreck.

Just off the runway lay the heavily damaged Port Authority fire truck, flipped on its side and shredded by the force of the impact.

Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said two employees travelling in the truck suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The plane’s two pilots were killed in the crash, and there were many more injuries among the passengers.

Numerous emergency vehicles responded to the disaster, and a command post was established near the crash site.

Inside the airport in the morning, passengers could be seen waiting for flights that were cancelled because of the tragedy. All flights into and out of LaGuardia were cancelled until at least 2 P.M. after the crash.

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