The Air Canada Express CRJ-900 plane was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members when it collided with the vehicle just before 11:40 p.m. on Sunday night.
According to USA TODAY, the “Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle was responding to another aircraft operated by United Airlines, which had reported an issue with odor.”
🚨#BREAKING: Officials have just announced that both the pilot and co-pilot have tragically been confirmed dead following the plane collision with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York. pic.twitter.com/EXX4JRyNzj
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 23, 2026
USA TODAY explained further:
Jazz Aviation, which operates as Air Canada Express, confirmed the incident involved a flight headed to LaGuardia from Montreal in a statement overnight. Visible damage to the nose of the plane, which was tilted upwards, could be seen in photos of the crash site.
Garcia said 41 passengers and crew were transported to the hospital. Thirty-two of them have been released, while others have “serious injuries.” Among the injured are the two officers who were aboard the fire truck, both of whom remain hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
The airport will be closed until at least 2 p.m., Garcia said. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is at the scene and will be leading the investigation. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration will send a team to support the NTSB investigation.
“A flight attendant was found by Port Authority Police outside the Air Canada aircraft after it collided with the truck, still strapped into her jumpseat, two sources have said. According to preliminary information, it appeared that the engines were off when responders arrived. As a result, responders were able to open the rear exit and escort passengers to safety,” Breaking Aviation News & Videos wrote.
“The plane is said to have struck the middle of the truck — causing the officers seated up front to be thrown from the vehicle — but enabling them to survive. The sergeant and a police officer who were on the truck are in a stable condition with non life-threatening injuries,” it continued.
A flight attendant was found by Port Authority Police outside the Air Canada aircraft after it collided with the truck, still strapped into her jumpseat, two sources have said.
According to preliminary information, it appeared that the engines were off when responders arrived.…
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) March 23, 2026
“Two sources tell NBC News the controller at LaGuardia Airport was working two positions at the time of the accident. This is common late at night when there is significantly less air traffic,” NBC New York stated.
“The NTSB plans to look into this angle, among others, as it conducts its investigation,” it added.
“We were dealing with an emergency earlier and I messed up,” an air traffic controller said in audio going viral on social media.
Take a listen:
Audio from Air Traffic Control when plane collided with fire truck at New York airport:
"Stop Truck 1, stop!"
"We were dealing with an emergency earlier and I messed up" pic.twitter.com/7dJcFov4gq
— BNO News (@BNONews) March 23, 2026
NBC New York confirmed:
Chilling audio reveals the moments before and after an arriving airplane collided with an emergency truck on the runway at LaGuardia Airport, killing both pilots and badly injuring two Port Authority police officers.
Footage from the scene shows the emergency firetruck crushed up against the nose of the plane. The captain and first officer piloting the plane both died. Federal and local investigations are underway.
Air traffic controllers can be heard giving directions to the Air Canada flight, then the firetruck as they neared Runway 4 at the Queens airport around 11:30 p.m. Sunday. A person is heard quickly instructing the truck to stop multiple times before the audio cuts out. When it comes back, someone indicates they “messed up.”
“No man, you did the best you could,” someone else says.
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