The pilot and co-pilot of an Air Canada regional flight have been killed after their aircraft struck a fire truck on the runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York late on Sunday night, in a collision that has left the airport closed and triggered a major emergency response.
Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia confirmed the deaths of the two crew members, while a Port Authority sergeant and officer who were in the emergency vehicle sustained broken limbs and were taken to hospital in a stable condition. All 76 passengers and the remaining four crew members on board survived the impact.
The Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft, operated by Jazz Aviation as part of Air Canada Express and travelling from Montreal, struck the fire truck at approximately 24 miles per hour on Runway 4 at around 11.45pm Eastern Time. Footage from the scene showed the jet with its cockpit elevated and the underside of the fuselage exposed and visibly damaged.
Air traffic control audio obtained from LiveATC.net revealed the sequence of events leading to the crash. The fire truck had been cleared to cross the runway to respond to a separate United Airlines flight that had reported an unusual smell on board. As it became apparent a collision was imminent, panicked instructions were broadcast ordering the vehicle to stop. The commands came too late. An air traffic controller was then heard telling the Air Canada crew to hold their position and that emergency vehicles were on their way.
The Federal Aviation Authority imposed a ground stop in the immediate aftermath, initially closing the airport until the early hours of the morning. The Port Authority subsequently confirmed the airport would remain shut to allow a full emergency response and investigation to take place. Arriving flights were diverted to alternative airports or returned to their points of origin.
The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed it was gathering information and would be leading the investigation into the accident. New York’s emergency management authority warned residents to expect flight cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and a significant emergency services presence around the airport in the coming hours.
LaGuardia, which handled more than 30 million passengers in 2024, had already been experiencing disruption earlier on Sunday due to light rain and fog in the area. The circumstances of how the runway crossing authorisation and the aircraft’s approach came into conflict will form a central part of the investigation now under way.
