Plane Strikes Gate at La Guardia, Injuring 6

By MARC SANTORA

Six people were injured when a Northwest Airlines plane crashed into a passenger loading bridge at La Guardia Airport yesterday morning, causing the plane's front landing gear to collapse and damaging another nearby plane, officials from the airline said.

No passengers were aboard either plane and none of the injuries were serious, said Kurt Ebenhoch, a spokesman for Northwest Airlines.

The accident occurred about 6:25 a.m. while the plane, an Airbus A-319 scheduled to depart at 2:59 p.m. as Flight 531 to Detroit, was being driven by two mechanics to Gate 10 from a remote spot where it had been parked overnight.

"The plane's left wing struck the passenger loading bridge at Gate 10," said Mr. Ebenhoch. "Upon striking the loading bridge, the airplane's front landing gear collapsed and a nearby Northwest aircraft was damaged."

The other plane, a Boeing 757-200 (N550NW), was parked at Gate 9 and was damaged by debris, Mr. Ebenhoch said. The Boeing was Flight 1653, scheduled to depart for Minneapolis/St. Paul at 8 a.m.

The injured included the two mechanics driving the Airbus, three ground workers and a customer service agent who was on the bridge. They were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens. All but one had been released by last night. Crew members were on board at the time but none of them were hurt.

The damage to both airplanes was substantial and they were removed from service, said Holly Baker, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Yesterday afternoon, the damaged Airbus remained at the accident site, its nose slumping to the tarmac, as investigators tried to figure out why the crash occurred. The National Transportation Safety Board and the F.A.A. were working on the investigation, Ms. Baker said. It remained unclear exactly what had caused the landing gear to collapse.

Mr. Ebenhoch said both flights were canceled and passengers were rerouted. Three other Northwest flights were also canceled as a result of the accident. Gates 9 and 10 remained closed yesterday afternoon, but officials said that otherwise the accident had only a minimal impact on the airport's operations.