LaGuardia Collision Kills 2 Pilots, Closes Airport

Air traffic control recordings show a fire truck was cleared to enter Runway 4, where it collided with a landing Air Canada jet.

Zach Vasile

Monday, March 23, 2026 at 10:50 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

An Air Canada CRJ-900 [Shutterstock/Minh K Tran]

Key Takeaways:

An Air Canada regional jet collided with a fire truck while landing at LaGuardia Airport, resulting in the deaths of two pilots and injuries to dozens of others from both the aircraft and the fire truck.
Air traffic control (ATC) recordings indicate the fire truck was initially cleared to cross the runway but was then urgently instructed to stop moments before the collision, with a controller later stating, "I messed up."
The fire truck was reportedly responding to an "odor" on a separate flight when the incident occurred, leading to the closure of LaGuardia Airport and an ongoing investigation by the FAA and NTSB.

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Two pilots were killed and dozens of others injured late Sunday night when an Air Canada regional jet hit a fire truck while landing at LaGuardia Airport (KLGA) in New York.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates LaGuardia, said the flight’s pilot and copilot were killed. Forty-one other people, 39 from the Air Canada Bombardier CRJ-900, and two from the firefighting vehicle, were reported injured and taken to area hospitals.