Deadly Air Canada plane crash at LaGuardia Airport due to runway collision with fire truck
Consensus Summary
An Air Canada regional jet operated by Jazz Aviation crashed into a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night, killing both pilots and injuring dozens. The fire truck, responding to an odor incident on a United Airlines flight, was cleared to cross Runway 4 just seconds before the plane landed, despite the truck lacking a transponder that would have alerted controllers. Audio recordings show a controller initially approving the crossing before urgently ordering the truck to stop, but the collision occurred anyway. Investigators from the NTSB are examining whether the airportâs two-controller staffing policy, the failure of surface surveillance systems, or controller distraction from the United Airlines emergency contributed to the crash. The NTSB chair emphasized that multiple safety failures likely occurred, and the FAA is also reviewing whether procedures were followed. Survivors described chaotic evacuations and injuries, while the Port Authority confirmed the runway remains closed for further investigation.
â Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- An Air Canada regional jet (operated by Jazz Aviation) collided with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night, around 11:45 pm local time.
- The crash killed both pilotsâAntoine Forest (30, from QuĂ©bec) and Mackenzie Gunther (2023 Seneca College graduate)âand injured 39â41 people, including two Port Authority employees in the fire truck.
- The fire truck was responding to an odor incident on a separate United Airlines flight when it crossed the runway where the Air Canada jet was cleared to land.
- Audio recordings show a controller clearing the fire truck to cross the runway 12â15 seconds before the plane touched down, then urgently ordering it to stop just before impact.
- The fire truck lacked a transponder, preventing the airportâs ASDE-X surface surveillance system from alerting controllers to its proximity to the runway.
- The NTSB is investigating whether the airportâs two-controller overnight staffing policy (minimum since 2018) was sufficient, and whether runway status lights or other safety systems failed.
- The Air Canada flight (Jazz Aviation CRJ-900, Flight 8646) originated from Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport and carried ~70â76 passengers and four crew members.
- A flight attendant (Solange Tremblay) survived after being ejected from her seat during the crash and suffered multiple fractures.
- LaGuardiaâs Runway 4 was involved in the collision, and the airport was shut down until at least Friday for investigation.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The NTSB chair (Jennifer Homendy) emphasized that major accidents rarely result from a single failure and that the aviation system has multiple safety layers.
- Audio recordings revealed a controller admitting âI messed upâ moments after the crash to a Frontier Airlines pilot, citing distraction from a United Airlines odor emergency.
- The FAA is investigating whether the United Airlines odor incident distracted controllers during the critical moments before the crash.
- The Port Authority declined to comment on the lack of a transponder in the fire truck due to the ongoing investigation.
- The NTSB timeline showed the fire truck requested runway crossing 25 seconds before impact, was cleared 5 seconds later, and was ordered to stop 9 seconds before collision.
- Former DOT inspector general Mary Schiavo called the crash âentirely avoidableâ and accused controllers of miscommunication between local and ground control, stating âsomeone made a very critical mistake.â
- Retired FAA controller Harvey Sconick called the controller who cleared the truck âbrain dead,â suggesting the controller failed to recognize the imminent landing plane.
- Schiavo compared the incident to the 2023 American Airlines-Potomac helicopter collision, calling it a âdereliction of dutyâ by the FAA.
- A passenger (Jack Cabot) recalled seeing âblood everywhereâ after the crash and described passengers helping each other with injuries and shared resources.
- The NY Post reported haunting photos of the mangled cockpit and a destroyed emergency vehicle lying on its side.
- No additional unique details beyond those already covered in ABC or NEWSCOMAU sources.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- ABC and NEWSCOMAU both report the fire truck lacked a transponder, but ABC notes the Port Authority declined to comment while NEWSCOMAU does not mention this.
- NEWSCOMAU claims the fire truck driver would have heard the landing plane and questioned the controllerâs clearance, but ABC does not address this driverâs perspective.
- ABC states the NTSB is investigating whether runway status lights were working (which *might* have warned the truck), while NEWSCOMAU does not mention this detail.
- NEWSCOMAUâs retired controller (Sconick) calls the controllerâs actions âbrain dead,â a strong opinion not echoed in ABCâs neutral reporting.
- ABC reports the passenger count as ~70â72, while NEWSCOMAU cites Jazz Aviationâs preliminary list of 76 people on board.
Source Articles
Seconds before LaGuardia crash, controller cleared fire truck to cross runway
US investigators are working to determine which of the airport's safety precautions failed and allowed the fire truck onto the runway, resulting in a collision that killed two pilots....
LaGuardia air traffic controller slammed as âbrain deadâ for avoidable Air Canada crash
The fatal plane crash at New Yorkâs LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night was entirely avoidable and likely caused by a miscommunication, experts say....
Controller appears to say 'I messed up' after deadly runway crash
Audio recordings from New York's LaGuardia airport reveal an air traffic controller appearing to admit he "messed up" just moments after an Air Canada Express regional jet crashed into a fire truck, k...
âBlood everywhereâ: New details in deadly plane crash
New details into a deadly collision between a plane and a fire truck have been revealed, with officials urging against âpointing fingers at controllersâ....