(New York) LaGuardia Airport in New York was closed until further notice after a collision that killed two people Sunday evening between an Air Canada plane leaving from Montreal and a fire engine on a landing strip.
Published at
Several American media, including NBC, CNN and ABC, announced the death of the pilot and a co-pilot. ABC said 13 people were hospitalized, including 11 passengers and the two people who were in the vehicle.
The plane, a CRJ-900 from the company Jazz Aviation operating on behalf of Air Canada “collided with a Port Authority rescue and firefighting vehicle which was responding to another incident,” according to this public agency which manages the airport.
“Emergency response protocols were immediately activated” and “the airport is currently closed to facilitate the response and allow for a thorough investigation,” continues Port Authority.
PHOTO BING GUAN, REUTERS
The plane, a CRJ-900 from Jazz Aviation operating on behalf of Air Canada, “collided with a Port Authority fire and rescue vehicle which was responding to another incident.”
The US Transportation Safety Agency (NTSB) announced that it had immediately deployed a team to investigate the accident.
According to the Jazz Aviation company, the plane landed in New York after taking off from Montreal with 72 passengers and 4 crew members on board, “although this remains to be confirmed,” she specifies.
” Emergency ”
AFP images show an Air Canada Express plane, at night, on a landing strip, whose cockpit and front part are seriously damaged. Numerous emergency vehicles are also on site, according to these photos.
The American Civil Aviation Authority (FAA) announced shortly before the closure of the airport due to an “emergency”. She specified that the probability that this measure would be extended was “strong”.
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane collided with the rescue vehicle as it landed.
He was “rolling on the runway when he collided” with the vehicle crossing his path, according to FlightRadar24.
New York’s emergency services have warned the public to “expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and the presence of emergency personnel” near this major transportation hub located in the borough of Queens, and which serves almost exclusively destinations in the United States and Canada.
PHOTO RYAN MURPHY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Port Authority fire and rescue vehicle lies on its side near Runway 4 after colliding with an Air Canada plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York on March 23, 2026.
“Take alternate routes,” they recommended on X.
All flights departing from LaGuardia were delayed or canceled Monday morning, according to the airport’s website.
LaGuardia was already experiencing flight disruptions due to bad weather conditions, the airport said on X on Sunday.
Passengers also had to wait longer to go through security checks due to “workforce impacts” caused by the expiration of federal funding, the airport said last week.
