A tragedy unfolded at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night when an Air Canada Express flight from Montreal collided with a fire truck on the runway. The collision resulted in the deaths of the two pilots and injuries to multiple others. The Air Canada Express CRJ-900, operated by Jazz Aviation, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members. The flight, AC8646, had just arrived from Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal.
The fire truck was responding to a separate incident involving a United Airlines flight that had reported an odour issue on takeoff. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the collision occurred around 11:30 p. m. on Runway 4. Audio recordings from air traffic control reveal the controller giving clearance to the truck, then urgently trying to halt its movement. The controller can be heard shouting "Stop, Truck 1. Stop," moments before the crash.
Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority, confirmed the deaths of the pilots, who were based in Canada. She stated that all passengers and crew have been accounted for, with 41 people taken to hospitals, and nine remaining hospitalized with serious injuries. The airport was temporarily closed, with flights being diverted to other airports in the New York area.
Air Canada and Jazz Aviation have expressed their condolences and are cooperating with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States in the investigation. The incident raises concerns about runway safety and air traffic control procedures at LaGuardia, with investigations underway to determine the exact sequence of events leading to the deadly collision.
