2 pilots killed after Air Canada jet hits fire truck, forcing New York’s LaGuardia airport to close
Two pilots were killed at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night after an Air Canada jet struck a Port Authority vehicle on the ground while landing, officials said. More than 40 passengers, crew members and Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting officers were hospitalized. The airport is expected to be closed until 2 p.m. Monday.
Trump says ‘they made a mistake’ when asked about deadly LaGuardia ground collision
President Donald Trump commented on the deadly ground collision that happened at LaGuardia Airport in New York as he spoke with reporters on Monday morning.
Trump was asked about the collision that killed two pilots and left dozens of others injured while answering questions from the media on the tarmac of Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, before boarding Air Force One for a flight to Memphis, Tennessee.
“They made a mistake,” Trump said, without elaborating on who. “It's a dangerous business. That's terrible.”
The circumstances leading up to the collision remain unclear.
A Port Authority spokesperson earlier said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle was responding to a separate incident as the aircraft was landing on Runway 4 at LaGuardia.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating.
Head-on image of LaGuardia crash shows new angle of damage
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy shared a head-on image that showed a new angle of damage to an Air Canada aircraft that collided with a fire truck while landing at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night.
Duffy shared the photo Monday morning in a post on X, writing that he was enroute to the airport in response to the “horrific crash.”
Duffy wrote that the NTSB and FAA were working closely on an investigation, adding that updates would be provided as soon as possible.
The secretary earlier said that the Air Canada jet was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members. The two pilots were killed, while more than a dozen others on board and at least two Port Authority firefighters were injured.
Pilots killed in LaGuardia collision ‘dedicated their careers’ to flying passengers safely: union
The two pilots killed when an Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck on a runway at LaGuardia Airport were dedicated to flying passengers through the skies safely, a union representing the pilots said Monday morning.
Capt. Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), said in a statement that the loss of the two pilots was a “profound tragedy.”
“These pilots dedicated their careers to the safe transport of passengers, and we are all thinking of their families, loved ones, and colleagues at Jazz Aviation during this devastating time,” Ambrosi said.
The identities of the pilots have yet to be released to the public.
Ambrosi said that the union’s accident investigation team is traveling to LaGuardia to assist the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation. He added that the union’s Critical Incident Response Program is working to its members and the families of those involved in the collision.
The union represents more than 80,000 pilots at 42 U.S. and Canadian airlines.
Control tower evacuation at Newark airport forces temporary ground stop
A brief ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey was issued Monday morning after a burning smell in an elevator forced the evacuation of an air traffic control tower, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.
The incident happened around 7:30 a.m. local time, the FAA said.
“Arrivals and departures are temporarily paused at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey after air traffic controllers evacuated the tower because of a burning smell coming from an elevator,” the FAA said in a statement.
The FAA announced around 8:30 a.m. that the ground stop had been lifted.
Hochul, Mamdani respond to ‘heartbreaking’ collision at LaGuardia
New York state and New York City leaders responded to the deadly collision at LaGuardia airport that killed two pilots aboard an Air Canada jet and left dozens of others injured.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the incident “heartbreaking” in a post on X.
“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and everyone affected,” she wrote.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he had been briefed on the tragic collision.
“The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident, and the City is in close contact with federal, state, and local partners,” the mayor wrote on X. “I am grateful to our first responders, whose swift actions saved lives.”
New York City Comptroller Mark Levin called the incident “horrific” in a post on X.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” he wrote. “Will be critical to learn what failures allowed this to happen.”
Cockpit voice recording will be 'critical' for NTSB: former investigator
A former NTSB investigator told “FOX & Friends First” on Monday that the cockpit voice recorder of an Air Canada jet that hit a fire truck while landing at LaGuardia Airport will be “critical” for investigators to determine what caused the deadly collision.
Alan Diehl said that pilots getting ready to land are focused on trying to put the aircraft on the end of the runway, what he called “the touchdown zone,” and they’re not looking for ground traffic up ahead.
“That’s why the cockpit voice recorder on the aircraft will be very critical to see whether or not they suspected that fire truck was not going to stop,” he said.
Diehl also weighed in on audio from air traffic controllers during the incident.
“You got to keep in mind that these controllers are overseeing a delicate dance,” Diehl said. “You’ve got departing planes, you’ve got crossing ground traffic, you’ve got landing traffic, and it sounded like — and of course all this is very speculative and preliminary — it sounded like he cleared the Air Canada plane to land, and that’s appropriate, and, of course, the fire truck is responding to another incident.”
“Everybody is trying to do their job, but somehow the timing got off,” Diehl said.
The NTSB will have to sort out how that happened over the next days and weeks, analyzing the recorders aboard the aircraft and interviewing those involved.
Diehl said that the NTSB will also look at Air Traffic controller staffing at the time of the incident.
Pilot 'did the best thing he could,' passenger says, describing impact
A passenger aboard the Air Canada jet that collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport Sunday night described the instant of the deadly runway impact, saying the pilot “did the best thing he could” in the moment.
Jack Cabot, one of 72 passengers aboard the Air Canada Express flight, said there was "chaos" as the plane landed.
“As we were arriving, we came down really hard,” he said. “We stopped really quickly and about two seconds later we had an absolute slam. Everybody was flying everywhere, I mean, the plane started veering off left and right. And there was, it was just chaos.”
“It didn’t feel like anyone was in control of anything,” Cabot continued. “Looking back on it, the pilot did the best thing he could. He hit the brakes as hard as he could and he knew it was going to be at the cost of his own life.”
Cabot described many of the passengers as bleeding from their heads after the impact.
“A lot of people got pretty hurt,” he said.
Both pilots were killed in the collision. More than 39 passengers and crew and at least two Port Authority firefighters were hospitalized, some with serious injuries, officials have said.
The NTSB and FAA are investigating the collision.
LISTEN: Air traffic controller says 'I messed up' after LaGuardia crash
New audio from LaGuardia Airport reveals the reactions of a Frontier pilot and an air traffic controller immediately after a deadly runway collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck.
“That wasn't good to watch,” says the Frontier pilot, who was not involved in the collision.
“Yeah, I know,” the air traffic controller says. “I was here. I tried to reach out. … We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up.”
The pilot responds: “Nah man, you did the best you could.”
The collision killed both pilots aboard the jet, injured dozens of other passengers and crew on board and at least two Port Authority firefighters, officials have said.
The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident.
Duffy says more than a dozen passengers, crew and firefighters injured in LaGuardia ground collision
More than a dozen people were injured after an Air Canada jet carrying 72 passengers and four crew members collided with a fire truck while landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York late Sunday night, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday morning.
Duffy said that both pilots were killed, while at least two Port Authority firefighters sustained “serious injuries.”
“Our prayers this morning are with the families impacted by the ground collision at LaGuardia,” Duffy wrote.
The secretary added that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was deploying a team to the crash site to help the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation.
NTSB deploys go team to investigate collision
Federal agencies have begun an investigation into a collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York that left two pilots dead and more than 40 others injured on Sunday night.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it has launched a “go team” that is expected to arrive at the airport later Monday.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that while the NTSB is leading the investigation, the FAA was also assisting in the effort.
The CRJ900 airplane hit the ground vehicle while landing on Runway 4 around 11:45 p.m. local time as the jet was arriving from Montreal, the agency said.
The agencies did not immediately provide additional information.
LISTEN: LaGuardia air traffic control audio reveals frantic call for truck to 'stop, stop, stop'
Frantic air traffic control audio has been released revealing the moment of the crash that left two pilots dead and at least 42 injured after striking a fire truck Sunday at New York's LaGuardia airport.
In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission discussing the request for the emergency vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it.
"Stop, Truck 1. Stop," the transmission says, which can be heard repeatedly.
The controller can then be heard frantically diverting an incoming aircraft from landing.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital’s Eric Mack.
LaGuardia shut down after Air Canada jet strikes vehicle, killing two pilots
An Air Canada Express regional jet struck a Port Authority vehicle on the ground after landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night, killing two people and forcing the airport to close.
The CRJ-900 plane, which was arriving from Montreal, struck the vehicle at about 24 miles per hour shortly before midnight, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.
Two pilots were killed in the incident, Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said at a news briefing. More than 40 passengers, crew members and Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) officers were transported to the hospital, she said.
"At this time, we understand that 32 have been released, but there are also serious injuries," Garcia said. "Sadly, the two pilots are confirmed deceased and notifications are being made by Air Canada's care team at this time."
The jet was operated by Jazz Aviation, Air Canada's regional partner. Air Canada and Jazz Aviation confirmed the incident to Fox News Digital.
"Flight 8646 was en route to LGA from Montréal (YUL)," Jazz Aviation said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The preliminary passenger list indicates the aircraft was carrying 72 passengers and 4 crew members, although this is subject to confirmation. The incident occurred at approximately 11:47PM on March 22, 2026."
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop for all planes at the airport, saying there was an emergency without offering specific details. The airport is expected to be closed until 2 p.m. Monday, the FAA said.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Landon Mion.
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