What happened at Newark airport? Burning smell triggers tower evacuation

Newark: Arrivals and departures were temporarily paused at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Monday morning after air traffic controllers evacuated the tower due to a burning smell coming from an elevator, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the issue, and the agency said it was determined that no fire had occurred. The delay lasted less than an hour, and no injuries were reported.

During the pause, FAA staff relocated to a backup tower at the airport, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport. They later returned to the primary tower.

Earlier this month, four airports serving Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, Virginia, halted all flights for over an hour because of a strong chemical smell that was impeding air traffic controllers.

Federal Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the source of the strong odour was traced to a circuit board that overheated and was replaced.

The temporary pause at Newark Liberty was not related to a fatal accident at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night.

In that episode, two people were killed, and several others were seriously injured when an Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck on a runway while landing, officials said.

The incident occurred at approximately 11:40 pm when a Jazz Aviation flight, operating on behalf of Air Canada, "hit an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle" that was already on the tarmac, "responding to a separate incident." CNN noted that the impact was fatal for the flight crew, with both the pilot and co-pilot losing their lives in the collision.

The crash resulted in a large-scale emergency response, as 39 passengers from the aircraft and two fire officers were rushed to local medical facilities. While the injured were "taken to hospitals," officials have not yet released specific "details on their conditions."

In the aftermath of the disaster, the airport has been placed under a total lockdown. CNN reported that LaGuardia will "remain closed until at least 2 pm Monday" to facilitate a comprehensive forensic analysis of the accident site. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently "sending a team" to the airport to assist the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) with their investigation.(AP)