Air Canada Express jet hits ground vehicle, closing New York's LaGuardia airport


Reuters' template to be used in breaking news scenarios. REUTERS

(Corrects day in paragraph ⁠1 to Sunday)

March 23 (Reuters) - An Air Canada Express regional ⁠jet collided with a ground vehicle upon landing at ‌New York's LaGuardia airport on Sunday evening, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24, in an incident that closed the airport.

The CRJ-900 plane, which was coming ​from Montreal, 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.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop for all planes at ⁠the airport until 0530 GMT, according to a ​notice from the ‌regulator.

The FAA notice showed that the reason for the halt ⁠at the ​airport was an emergency and there was a high probability of an extension, without specifying any details.

LaGuardia's website showed arriving planes had ⁠been diverted to other airports or returned ​to their point of origin.

In a separate notice to airmen, the FAA said that the airport could be shut until 1800 ⁠GMT.

Unverified footage on social media showed damage to the nose of the plane, as it tilted upward. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.

The New York Fire Department in a statement ​said that it was responding to a ⁠reported incident involving a plane and a vehicle on the runway ​at LaGuardia airport, but did not ‌provide further details.

Air Canada and the ​FAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)

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