NTSB: Airport Truck Missed Warnings Before Fatal LaGuardia Collision

Early findings highlight moment of confusion before fatal accident.

Meg Godlewski

Friday, April 24, 2026 at 02:43 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Zach Vasile

National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrive at LaGuardia Airport’s Runway 4 following the fatal collision between a passenger jet and fire truck. [Credit: NTSB]

Key Takeaways:

The NTSB's preliminary report on the LaGuardia ground collision revealed that the airport fire truck crew did not initially realize air traffic control's frantic "stop" orders were directed at them, continuing onto the runway.
A significant contributing factor to the accident was that the airport's runway entrance lights (RELs), designed to prevent runway incursions, were turned off at the time of the collision.
The collision between the fire truck and a landing CRJ-900 aircraft resulted in the deaths of the two pilots and injuries to 39 passengers and crew members.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the deadly ground collision between an airport fire truck and a CRJ-900 airplane at LaGuardia Airport (KLGA) in March reveals the occupants of the truck did not realize that an air traffic controller’s frantic orders to stop were directed at them.

In addition, the airport’s runway entrance lights (REL) were turned off.