Two Pilots Dead After Air Canada Jet Collides With Fire Truck at LaGuardia Airport

Two pilots died and at least 43 people were transported to hospitals after an Air Canada Express jet collided with a Port Authority fire truck on Runway 4 at New York's LaGuardia Airport at approximately 11:37 p.m. on Sunday, March 22, 2026. The CRJ-900 jet, operated by Jazz Aviation as Flight 8646 and arriving from Montreal with 72 passengers and four crew members, struck the fire truck as it crossed the runway. The impact tore off a large portion of the front of the aircraft, including most of the cockpit, killing both pilots instantly. A flight attendant identified as Solange Tremblay was ejected from the plane along with her seat and landed on the runway. Nine additional people were hospitalized with serious injuries, and approximately 40 passengers and crew members were transported to nearby hospitals in total, with most released by Monday morning according to authorities.

One controller cleared both jet and truck The National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation Monday, with Chair Jennifer Homendy telling reporters at LaGuardia that investigators would "rule nothing out" and that interviewing the air traffic controller on duty would be a central part of the inquiry. Flight tracking data, air traffic control audio, and surveillance footage reviewed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal indicate that the same controller who cleared Air Canada Flight 8646 to land also granted the fire truck permission to cross Runway 4 at crossing point Delta. About 30 seconds before the collision, the fire truck requested permission to cross, and the controller promptly responded, "Truck 1 and company, cross 4 at delta." Ten seconds later, the same controller reversed course, broadcasting urgently: „Stop, stop, stop, stop, Truck 1, stop, stop, stop” — Air traffic controller via The New York Times The warning came too late. Flight data shows the Air Canada plane was traveling at approximately 150 miles per hour on final approach and touched down roughly 15 seconds before the collision. Several minutes after the crash, the controller told the pilot of a Frontier jet that had been queued on the same runway, "I messed up," according to audio posted on LiveATC.net and reviewed by The New York Times. Two audio forensics experts interviewed by The Wall Street Journal said preliminary analysis of the air traffic control recordings confirmed it was the same controller who authorized both the landing and the truck crossing.

United Airlines emergency distracted controller before crash The sequence of events that led to the collision began roughly 15 to 20 minutes earlier, when United Airlines Flight 2384 aborted its second takeoff attempt after flight attendants reported feeling ill due to an unidentified odor spreading through the cabin. According to air traffic control audio reviewed by The New York Times, the controller spent several minutes coordinating with United pilots to find a gate, relaying messages among pilots, airport officials, and emergency responders. The United pilots declared an emergency, and the controller dispatched fire trucks to assist in a potential evacuation. Seconds before the Air Canada collision, the controller was still relaying communications related to the United emergency, according to the audio. „It's pretty traumatic for that air traffic controller as well. We'll want to interview that air traffic controller as well as others that were in the tower” — Jennifer Homendy via Reuters Kathryn Garcia, Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, confirmed that the fire truck crew had requested and received permission to cross the runway shortly before the crash. The source of the odor that triggered the United Airlines emergency was not immediately identified. Passenger Brady Sego, writing on Reddit, suggested the pilots may have saved lives by applying reverse thrust at the last moment: „Someone did say the pilot tried to reverse thrust at the last second. Honestly, they likely saved our lives. I wish I could tell their families how thankful I am. They are heroes” — Brady Sego via Irish Independent

LaGuardia Collision — Sequence of Events: — ; — ; — ; — ; —

Government shutdown hampered investigators' arrival at scene The crash unfolded against a backdrop of severe strain on the U.S. aviation system, compounded by a partial government shutdown that has left TSA workers without pay for more than a month, driving absentee rates sharply higher at airports nationwide. Jennifer Homendy said at a press conference Monday that the staffing crisis directly delayed her agency's response, with one of the NTSB's air traffic control specialists trapped in a three-hour security line at a Houston airport before the agency intervened to get her through. Homendy drove to LaGuardia from Washington, D.C., with a team, and investigators continued arriving by plane, train, and car throughout Monday, with the last expected to arrive around 1 a.m. Tuesday. 42 (percent) — TSA agent absentee rate at Atlanta airport on Sunday LaGuardia itself was closed following the crash and did not reopen to a limited schedule until 2 p.m. Monday, further complicating the investigation's start. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said Monday that the airport had been "well staffed" overall but acknowledged a persistent shortage of adequately trained air traffic controllers. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford also appeared at a press conference at LaGuardia on Monday afternoon. 80 (runway incursions) — Vehicle or pedestrian runway incursions in Q4 2025, up from 54 a year earlier The NTSB said it had recovered both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder from the aircraft for analysis, and Homendy emphasized that investigators would examine all contributing factors before drawing conclusions. „We'll want to interview that air traffic controller as well as others that were in the tower” — Jennifer Homendy via Reuters

Q4 2024: 54, Q4 2025: 80