Deadly Air Canada plane crash at LaGuardia Airport due to runway collision with fire truck
Consensus Summary
An Air Canada Express regional jet operated by Jazz Aviation collided with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night, October 20, 2024, killing the two pilots and injuring dozens. The CRJ-900 aircraft, Flight AC8646, was landing from Montreal with 72 passengers and 4 crew when it struck the truck on Runway 4, which was responding to a United Airlines flight’s reported odour emergency. Audio recordings reveal a controller initially cleared the truck to cross the runway before urgently ordering it to stop, later admitting 'I messed up.' The fire truck lacked a transponder, preventing the airport’s ASDE-X system from alerting controllers, and the NTSB is investigating whether staffing levels, fatigue, or distractions contributed. The runway remains closed until at least Friday, and the NTSB is analyzing 25+ hours of cockpit recordings. Survivors described chaos and injuries, while experts warn the incident highlights systemic safety concerns at LaGuardia, including pilot reports of rushed air traffic control operations months prior. The crash follows a series of recent aviation incidents, raising questions about airport safety protocols and controller workload.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- An Air Canada Express regional jet (operated by Jazz Aviation) collided with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night, October 20, 2024, around 11:37-11:45 PM local time.
- The plane was Flight AC8646, a CRJ-900, arriving from Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport with 72 passengers and 4 crew members on board (76 total).
- The collision occurred on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport, Queens, New York, killing the two pilots (Antoine Forest, 30, and Mackenzie Gunther, 23).
- The fire truck was responding to a separate incident involving a concerning odour on a United Airlines flight.
- The airport was closed for several hours, with all flights diverted, and the runway remained closed until at least Friday, October 25, 2024.
- Audio recordings show an air traffic controller initially cleared the fire truck to cross the runway before urgently ordering it to stop with the phrase 'Stop, truck one, stop!'
- The controller later admitted 'I messed up' in a post-crash transmission to a Frontier Airlines pilot.
- The fire truck lacked a transponder, preventing the airport’s ASDE-X runway safety system from alerting controllers to its presence.
- The NTSB is leading the investigation, with over 25 hours of cockpit voice recordings and 80 hours of flight data being analyzed.
- The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reported 41 injured passengers and crew, with 32 released and 9 still hospitalized as of Monday morning.
- Two Port Authority employees in the fire truck suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
- A flight attendant (Solange Tremblay) was miraculously found alive outside the plane, still strapped into her seat, with multiple fractures and a broken leg.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Former DOT Inspector General Mary Schiavo stated the Air Canada jet had the right of way and blamed a miscommunication between control tower and ground control, suggesting one person may have been directing both functions.
- Retired FAA controller Harvey Sconick called the controller 'brain dead' for allowing the collision, stating 'there’s no explanation I can give you that would make any sense.'
- Schiavo compared the incident to the January 2025 American Airlines-Potomac helicopter collision, calling it a 'dereliction of duty' by the FAA.
- The article mentions a female flight attendant was ejected through the front of the aircraft while still in her seat and survived.
- The Guardian initially reported the collision without immediate details, later highlighting pilot safety concerns filed months prior about LaGuardia’s air traffic control.
- A pilot’s anonymous report to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System warned of controllers 'pushing the line' and compared LaGuardia to the January 2025 Potomac crash.
- The Guardian noted the FAA’s ground stop was issued until 2 PM local time (1800 GMT) and mentioned the NTSB’s delayed investigation due to security line delays in Houston.
- ABC reported the pilot’s name as Antoine Forest and flight attendant Solange Tremblay’s daughter confirmed her identity and injuries.
- ABC mentioned the FAA’s investigation into whether a United Airlines flight emergency distracted the controller.
- The article emphasized the runway would be closed until Friday and included a timeline of the final moments from the NTSB’s review of cockpit recordings.
- ABC noted the fire truck was manned by police officers, with a sergeant and officer suffering broken limbs.
- The Age provided a detailed timeline of the final moments, including the United Airlines flight’s emergency declaration due to an odour, followed by the fire truck’s clearance to cross the runway.
- The article mentioned the fire truck was responding to a 'concerning odour' on a United Airlines flight, not just any incident.
- The Age reported the NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy’s caution against blaming controllers for distraction, stating 'we rarely, if ever, investigate a major accident where it was one failure.'
- The article included a survivor’s account of seeing 'blood everywhere' after the crash and described the plane’s nose as 'crumpled and tilted upward.'
- The SMH reported the fire truck was manned by police officers, with a sergeant and officer having broken limbs and being in stable condition.
- The SMH mentioned social media footage showing the plane’s nose lifting after passenger evacuation, contrary to other reports stating the plane stopped on the runway.
- ABC referenced the New York Times reporting that the FAA was investigating whether a United Airlines flight emergency distracted the controller.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- The Guardian and ABC report the fire truck was responding to a 'separate incident' or 'concerning odour' on a United Airlines flight, but the SMH and The Age specify it was a 'concerning odour' on a United Airlines flight, while ABC and The Age mention the truck was manned by police officers (not explicitly stated in Guardian or NEWSCOMAU).
- NEWSCOMAU and ABC report the controller was called 'brain dead' or admitted 'I messed up,' but The Age’s NTSB chair Homendy cautioned against singling out controllers for distraction, implying no definitive blame yet.
- The SMH states the plane’s nose lifted after passenger evacuation, while other sources (ABC, The Age) describe the plane stopping on the runway with the nose in the air, implying differing interpretations of the aftermath.
- The Guardian and ABC report the airport was closed until 2 PM local time (1800 GMT) on Monday, but The Age and ABC later clarify the runway was closed until Friday, October 25, 2024.
- The Guardian and ABC report 41 injured passengers/crew, but NEWSCOMAU and The Age report 41 injured total (including truck occupants), with varying numbers released vs. hospitalized.
Source Articles
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