00:00There was a CJR 900 from Montreal here to LaGuardia, operated by Air Canada Express and by Jazz.
00:11It collided with a Port Authority fire truck at approximately 11.45 p.m. last night.
00:18There were 72 passengers on the plane and four crew.
00:23Approximately 40 people were sent to the hospital after the crash.
00:29Several have also been released.
00:32As has been reported, the two pilots of the aircraft passed away in the crash last night.
00:39I do want to note that we send our deepest condolences to their families as they're going through, no doubt,
00:47a grieving process.
00:49There were two individuals in the fire truck.
00:53They, too, were sent to the hospital after the crash.
00:58Now, there's going to be a lot of questions, I know, about what do we know at this time?
01:04And what we are going to do is give you the information that we can.
01:09Again, we all have the respect for the NTSB.
01:12The NTSB goes through a thorough investigation.
01:16And we are conscious about the information and the facts that we give you because we want that information to
01:22be accurate.
01:23There's some information that we hold back that the NTSB has that we allow them to do the investigation, and
01:30it takes months, sometimes up to a year, before we get the findings of that investigation.
01:35But NTSB is on the ground at the airport.
01:39The FAA is on the ground.
01:41Over 10 people from the FAA are here.
01:44As well as Transport Canada is sending a team to LaGuardia as well.
01:49Our two countries work very well together.
01:51There's a well-worn path where we collaborate together when there's aviation crashes in either of our countries.
02:00The administrator and I were at the crash site earlier today, which is easily visible from the airport.
02:07And it is incredibly sad.
02:11It's troubling.
02:13And I just want to let America know that we are working our hearts off to make sure that when
02:22people travel, whether by rail or car or by air,
02:27that they travel safely.
02:29And we put in precautions and policies to make sure that you are safe when you travel.
02:35When I was at the crash site, it was just a reminder that when you're traveling by air, you should
02:42wear your seatbelt.
02:43If you see the videos of the air crash, wear your seatbelt when you're on the airplane.
02:48Also, in a car, wear a seatbelt.
02:51As you see from last night, they do save lives.
02:54I'd also note that as of now, LaGuardia is open.
02:59There is a reduced capacity because the aircraft and the fire truck are still in their positions from last night.
03:09So we are going to have reduced capacity for some time, but the airport is operational.
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