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An Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck after landing at New York’s LaGuardia airport, killing the pilot and co-pilot, according to reports.
At least 40 people, including at least two New York/New Jersey Port Authority officers and passengers, have been rushed to a local hospital.
As a result of the crash, LaGuardia will be shut until Monday evening at 7 pm. More than 400 flights have been canceled so far. The Queens-area airport sees around 900 flights departing and arriving every day.
The CRJ-900 aircraft was arriving from Montreal after 11 pm local time with 76 passengers and crew on board when it slammed into the truck at a speed of about 24mph, according to FlightRadar24 data.
An Air Canada Express CRJ-900 sits on the runway after colliding with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York, on March 23, 2026. Air Canada Express flight AC8646 originated from Montreal and collided with the fire truck during landing (AP)
The Port Authority police officers, one of them a sergeant and an officer, were taken to hospitals to receive treatment for broken bones, NBC New York reported. Both are in stable condition.
A female flight attendant was ejected “through the front” of the plane from her seat but has survived, reports The New York Post.
Over a dozen people were rushed to nearby hospitals with various injuries.
The offices are with the Port Authority Police Department’s Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter Unit, an agency that responds to aircraft emergencies.
The truck was headed to another incident at the time of the incident, according to FlightRadar24. Audio from the tower shows that the truck was cleared to cross the runway, next a voice can be heard shouting for “Truck 1” to stop.
The other incident involved a United Airlines flight that aborted takeoff due to an anti-ice warning. The pilots reported an odor in the cockpit, CBS News reports. Flight attendants on board reported that the feeling unwell due to the smell.
The injured included two Port Authority police officers, one of them a sergeant and an officer, who were taken to hospitals to receive treatment for broken bones (AP)
Footage on the Citizen App appeared to show significant damage to the aircraft’s nose, which was tilted upward as the emergency crew worked at the scene. The New York City area was hit by heavy rain before the crash; it’s unclear whether the weather was a factor in the incident. Visibility was at around three miles.
The plane involved in the crash was operated by Air Canada’s regional partner Jazz, which is owned by Chorus Aviation.
Jazz Aviation said there were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the flight, which was landing on Runway 4. Many of those on board were Orthodox Jews from New York, according to The Post.
The FlightRadar imaging showing the Air Canada flight landing (FlightRadar24)
According to Air Canada’s website, Jazz’s CRJ-900 planes can seat up to 76 passengers.
“At approximately 11.40pm on Sunday, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada was involved in an incident on Runway 4 at LaGuardia airport in which the aircraft struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident,” the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.
The Port Authority Police Department’s chairman and executive director were at the scene, it said.
LaGuardia’s website showed arriving flights getting diverted to other airports or returning to their points of origin.
The New York Fire Department said it was responding to a reported incident involving a plane and a vehicle on the runway at LaGuardia, but did not provide further details
The New York Fire Department said it was responding to a reported incident involving a plane and a vehicle on the runway at LaGuardia, but did not provide further details.
The incident is now being investigated by the National Transport Safety Board.
New York City’s emergency notification system said that the public could expect flight cancellations, road closures, traffic delays, and emergency personnel near the airport.
Initially, officials said that the airport would be closed until at least 2 pm. The Federal Aviation Administration said the closure was due to an emergency and that there was a “high” likelihood that the order would be extended.
LaGuardia served over 30 million passengers annually in 2025, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a wide range of U.S. airlines operate at the airport.