Society News

Air Canada Express jet hits a fire truck on a LaGuardia runway, killing both pilots

An Air Canada Express jet from Montréal-Trudeau, Flight 8646, struck a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle while landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York at about 11:30pm on Sunday, March 22, killing both pilots. The CRJ-900, operated by Jazz Aviation, carried 72 passengers and four crew. Forty-one people were taken to hospital and 32 had been released by early Monday, NPR reported in a story carried by Michigan Public.

The fire truck was responding to a separate incident on a United Airlines plane, which Toronto magazine Toronto Life described as an aborted takeoff after an anti-ice warning, followed by a cabin odour and ill flight attendants. Toronto Life said scene images showed the impact sheared the cockpit off entirely. New York outlet amNY said the jet was landing on Runway 4, the truck overturned, and its two officers suffered broken bones but were stable.

“Anytime anyone is moving on any of our runways or taxiways, they have to get clearance from the tower.” — Kathryn Garcia, Port Authority, via NPR

The NTSB sent a go-team. Garcia said the truck was on the runway at air traffic control's discretion. Prime Minister Mark Carney called the collision “deeply saddening”. LaGuardia was closed overnight, and more than 600 flights were cancelled on Monday, according to FlightAware.

How each outlet framed it

• NPR — what is known so far, and the question of runway clearance.
• Toronto Life — the Canadian flight and crew, and what the fire truck was responding to.
• amNY — the local response: hospitals, a family centre and Mayor Zohran Mamdani's briefing.

What we don't know yet: why the truck and the jet were on the runway at the same time; amNY said the investigation will look at whether air traffic controller staffing shortages played a role.