A pilot and copilot were killed late Sunday when an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, injuring 39 passengers and crew members in a catastrophic collision that shut down the airport until at least Monday afternoon.
Around 11:40 p.m., a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle on Runway 4. The vehicle was responding to a separate incident, according to a statement from LaGuardia Airport. There were 72 passengers and four crew members on board, Jazz Aviation said. Authorities said 39 passengers and crew members were taken to area hospitals, though some have since been released.
Two Port Authority employees in the fire truck were also injured, but their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport. Garcia said during a news conference that the pilot and copilot were both based in Canada.
The airport will remain closed until at least 2 p.m. Monday to allow for a National Transportation Safety Board investigation. “This is a developing situation based on preliminary information,” the airport said, adding that officials are working with airline partners and federal authorities and will provide updates as they become available.
Garcia said the fire truck had been crossing the runway to respond to a separate incident on a United Airlines flight after the pilot reported “an issue with odor.” She referred further questions about the sequence of events to the NTSB. Photos and videos from the scene showed the nose of the plane elevated with severe damage, with cables and debris hanging from the cockpit.
In the moments before the crash, air traffic control audio captured a controller clearing a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then urgently trying to stop it. “Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” the controller said, before diverting an incoming aircraft from landing. The recording suggests the controller realized the fire truck was in danger of colliding with the landing plane but was unable to prevent the crash.
Air traffic controllers are not impacted by the partial government shutdown that has caused long delays at airport security checkpoints in recent days. They have been affected by past shutdowns. The collision marks one of the deadliest aviation accidents at a U.S. airport in recent years and raises questions about runway safety protocols and communication between air traffic control and ground vehicles during emergency responses.
