2 dead in Air Canada jet collision at New York’s LaGuardia, Trump deploys ICE to strained US airports

NEW YORK/ATLANTA/WASHINGTON - Two pilots died in a runway accident that shut New York’s LaGuardia Airport and President Donald Trump deployed armed immigration agents to help with hours-long lines, adding further strain to a US air-travel system already hobbled by personnel shortages and rising fuel costs.

The crash between an Air Canada Express jet and a fire truck at LaGuardia injured dozens of passengers and led to hundreds of flight cancellations at the start of the working week, the latest disruption for airports and carriers that have been knocked off-kilter by a weeks-long budget standoff in Congress.

The crashed jet remained visible at the airport on March 23, its crushed cockpit pointing skyward.

The two young pilots who died in the incident had just started their careers, said Mr Bryan Bedford, head of the Federal Aviation Administration. “It’s an absolute tragedy,” he said at a news conference.

ICE deployed to airports

Travellers have endured hours-long waits at security screening checkpoints in recent days as absentee rates have spiked among Transportation Security Administration employees who have gone without pay for more than a month.

“If you work, you should get your money. Why should that be a problem?“ said traveller Edwin Blain, 60, who showed up four hours early to avoid missing his flight at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, the nation’s busiest, where 42 per cent of TSA agents were absent on March 22.

On March 23, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents wearing flak jackets and pistols stood guard in airports in Atlanta, New York and New Jersey, according to Reuters witnesses.

Mr Trump said they were being sent to airports to help TSA agents reduce security screening lines, over the objections of the TSA workers’ labour union, who said ICE agents had not undergone the months of airport security training needed.

At several airports, the ICE agents were seen standing near lengthy security lines while TSA agents continued to operate the X-ray machines and scanning systems, and the ICE agents’ functions were not immediately clear.

They were not wearing the masks that have become a divisive symbol of Mr Trump’s immigration crackdown and a subject of negotiations in Congress.

White House immigration czar Tom Homan said agents had been deployed to 14 airports, in cities including New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Houston.

The authorities said the agents would provide crowd control, but Mr Trump said they could also make arrests - raising concerns that the chaotic raids that have played out on the streets of Minneapolis, Chicago and elsewhere might come to the nation’s airports as well.

“They’re able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country. That’s very fertile territory,” Mr Trump told reporters. “But that’s not why they’re there. They’re really there to help.”

All international arrivals at US airports already have their passports and other documents checked by Customs and Border Protection agents, who deport those without legal authorisation to enter.

In Washington, there was little sign that the standoff between Mr Trump’s Republicans and opposition Democrats would end soon. Democrats have refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security without new curbs on immigration agents, who have killed US citizens and sparked public outrage during their crackdown.

Though the White House has engaged in talks, Mr Trump said on March 23 he would not sign off on any compromise until Congress first passed a series of voting restrictions that Democrats have rejected, adding another potential roadblock to a deal.

Airlines are also facing rising fuel costs, which have spiked since the US and Israel attacked Iran more than three weeks ago. United Airlines said on March 20 it would cut flights through the busy summer travel season, citing elevated oil prices.

LaGuardia collision kills two, several hospitalised

In New York, the pilot and first officer of an Air Canada Express jet were killed when the plane collided with a fire truck while taxiing. Another nine people were hospitalised with serious injuries. The CRJ-900 plane, operated by regional partner Jazz Aviation, had been carrying 72 passengers and four crew members.

Some 572 flights were cancelled, more than 50 per cent of LaGuardia’s daily total. Some flights resumed on the afternoon of March 23, but the FAA said the runway where the accident took place would be closed until March 20, which will likely cause delays throughout the week.

US aviation has faced a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers, but US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that was not a problem at LaGuardia. “It’s a very well-staffed airport,” he said at a news briefing.

Ms Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said earlier in the day that the fire truck was responding to a separate aircraft that had reported an “issue with odour.”

According to air traffic control audio, a controller can be heard telling the craft that a fire truck was en route and clearing a truck to cross a runway. Moments later, the controller can be heard saying: “Stop, stop, stop, truck 1 stop, truck 1, stop.”

A separate 35-minute ground stop at nearby Newark Liberty International Airport on March 23 added to delays after air traffic controllers evacuated their tower because of a burning smell from an elevator, the Federal Aviation Administration said. REUTERS