NPR
New York's LaGuardia Airport closed after jet collides with firefighting vehicle
+837 words added -620 words removed
− By
The Associated Press
An Air Canada Jet sits on the runway at LaGuardia Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, after colliding with a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle after landing in New York.
+ By
Rachel Treisman
The damaged Air Canada Express CRJ-900 sits on the LaGuardia runway Monday morning.
− Ryan Murphy/AP hide caption
NEW YORK — Two people were killed and several others badly hurt when an Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck on a runway while landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night, officials said.
+ Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Two pilots were killed and dozens of passengers injured when an Air Canada regional jet collided with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night.
− The pilot and copilot were killed in the collision, which crushed the nose of the aircraft, while 39 passengers and crew members were taken to area hospitals, some with serious injuries.
+ Air Canada Flight 8646, operated by regional airline Jazz Aviation, was landing in New York around 11:30 p.m.
− Most have since been released from treatment, authorities said Monday.
+ when it struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.
− Two Port Authority employees who were traveling in the fire truck also suffered injuries that 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.
+ National ICE officers set to deploy to airports as delays mount, border czar Homan confirms Officials say 72 passengers and four crew members were on board the flight from Montréal-Trudeau International Airport.
− The pilot and copilot were both based out of Canada, Garcia said during a news conference early Monday.
The airport will remain closed until at least 2 p.m.
+ Garcia said at a press conference early Monday that the pilot and first officer, who have not yet been identified, were both killed.
− Monday to facilitate the investigation, which is being led by the National Transportation Safety Board.
+ She said 41 passengers and crew members were transported to the hospital.
− The fire truck was traveling across the runway to respond to a separate incident aboard a United Airlines flight, whose pilot had reported "an issue with odor," said Garcia, who deferred additional questions about the sequence of events leading up to the crash to the NTSB.
+ "At this time we understand 32 have been released, but there are also serious injuries," Garcia said early Monday.
− There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the aircraft, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to a statement from the airline.
+ The collision happened just before midnight on Sunday.
− The flight originated at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, the major airport serving Montreal.
+ Ryan Murphy/AP hide caption
She declined to elaborate on the condition of the nine people who remained hospitalized at the time of the press conference. Air Canada said in a Monday morning statement that it "cannot confirm the exact number of injuries or if there are other fatalities at this time."
The collision crumpled the front of the passenger jet, tilting its nose upward and forcing passengers to evacuate through emergency exits. Photos from the scene show debris hanging from the exposed cockpit and scattered across the tarmac, as the damaged emergency vehicle lies on its side nearby.
− Photos and videos from the scene showed severe damage to the front of the aircraft, with cables and debris hanging from a mangled cockpit.
+ Garcia said the two officers on board the Port Authority vehicle were in "stable condition with no life-threatening injuries." The firetruck had been on the runway at the discretion of air traffic control, responding to a separate "odor" incident involving a United Airlines plane, she said.
National Airport security lines are long.
− Nearby, a damaged emergency vehicle lay on its side.
+ Here's what to know if you're flying "Anytime anyone is moving on any of our runways or taxiways, they have to get clearance from the tower," she added.
− Stairways used to evacuate passengers from the aircraft were pushed up to the emergency exits on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ.
+ The damaged Port Authority fire truck sits near the runway on Monday.
− The impact left the jet with its crumpled nose tilted upward.
+ Officials said the two people on board were hospitalized but in stable condition. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
On an audio feed from the time of the incident, archived on the website LiveATC.net, an air traffic controller can be heard granting clearance to the vehicle to cross the tarmac, then quickly and repeatedly calling on it to stop. At another point, a different voice says they have just gotten word the airport will be closed for a while, adding, "that wasn't good to watch."
"I tried to reach out to them, I stopped them," the original voice says. "We were dealing with an emergency earlier and I messed up."
Garcia deferred many of the reporters' questions to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the federal agency that investigates civil transportation accidents, which quickly dispatched a go-team to New York.
− A Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle lays on its side off of runway 4 after colliding with an Air Canada jet after it landed at LaGuardia Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, in New York.
+ Garcia said LaGuardia will be closed until at least 2 p.m.
− Ryan Murphy/AP hide caption
In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it.
+ ET on Monday to facilitate that investigation.
− "Stop, Truck 1.
+ All flights into and out of LaGuardia Airport were cancelled on Monday morning.
− Stop," the transmission says.
+ It's one of three main airports serving the New York City area.
− The controller can then be heard frantically diverting an incoming aircraft from landing.
+ Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption
At least 573 flights into or out of the airport were cancelled on Monday, according to a tracker from FlightAware. Many of those were operated by Delta Airlines, for which LaGuardia is a major hub. The airline said in a statement that it will automatically rebook affected passengers "to the next best itinerary," and that "additional schedule adjustments are possible if the closure extends."
LaGuardia was the 19th busiest airport in the U.S. in 2024, according to Federal Aviation Administration data. It saw about 900 inbound and outbound flights per day in January 2026, according to a Port Authority dashboard.
− Air traffic controllers are not impacted by the partial government shutdown that has caused long delays at airport security checkpoints in recent days.
+ Your Money How the Iran war is disrupting air travel — and advice if you're planning a trip It is one of the three main airports serving the New York City metropolitan area.
− They have been affected by past shutdowns.
+ Another, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, briefly issued a ground stop on Monday morning after the air traffic control tower was evacuated due to smoke, according to local media.
− As passengers straggled out of the airport into the dark early Monday, some described having arrived at LaGuardia hours before their flight, hoping to beat the lines.
Arturo Davidson said his Miami-bound flight was on the tarmac Sunday night when fellow passengers saw the collision or its aftermath and reactions rippled through the cabin.
The passengers were soon told there had been an accident.
+ Travelers pass the time at LaGuardia on Monday morning.
− About 20 minutes later, they were informed the airport was closing and they must return to the terminal, he said later Monday, gazing at a departure board filled with cancellations.
+ Steve Kastenbaum for NPR hide caption
Air travel has recently been fraught for many Americans, due to the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security, which is now in its sixth week.
− "I don't think we're going at two," he sighed, referring to the time Monday afternoon that officials gave as the earliest for reopening LaGuardia.
LaGuardia was 19th busiest in 2024 out of more than 500 U.S.
+ Many Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, forced to work without pay, have either quit or called out from work, resulting in longer security lines at many airports.
− airports, with over 16.7 million passengers boarding there, according to a 2025 FAA database.
+ The Trump administration said over the weekend that it would be sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to assist at unspecified airports around the country starting Monday.