A Jazz Aviation plane departing from Montreal collided with an emergency vehicle on a runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York, causing the death of both pilots while 41 passengers and crew members were transported to hospital.
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What you need to know
- A plane crashed into a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday;
- The two pilots of the aircraft died;
- There were 72 passengers and 4 crew members on board;
- The flight from Montreal was operated by Jazz Aviation, which operates under the name Air Canada Express.
At a press briefing early Monday morning, Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said 32 people had been released from the hospital, “but some have serious injuries,” she said. In a press release published at 7:20 a.m. on its website, Air Canada added that it “cannot confirm the exact number of injured or whether there are other victims at this time.”
The collision, which occurred around 11:40 p.m. Sunday, involved a Jazz Aviation plane, a CRJ-900 operating as Air Canada Express. Seventy-two passengers and four crew members were aboard flight AC8646, which struck a fire truck crossing runway number 4 upon landing. The truck, authorities said, was heading toward a United Airlines plane whose pilot had reported a suspicious odor.
PHOTO TIMOTHY A. CLARY, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The fire truck that collided with the Jazz Aviation plane at LaGuardia.
“We were going down for a normal landing, we immediately hit something and there was chaos on the plane,” said a passenger interviewed by CNN, introduced as “Jack Cabot”. Within about five seconds, we were still. Everyone was crouching down and, very quickly, everyone started screaming. »
The entire front of the plane was destroyed, the passenger reported. “So someone said, ‘Let’s go to the fire exit and open the door. Let’s all jump out,’ and that’s exactly what we did.” »
@cnn A passenger on an Air Canada flight says it was “chaos” after the plane collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The pilot and copilot were killed, and two people in the truck were injured, a law enforcement official said. #CNN #News
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The two officers on board the truck “are in stable condition, with injuries that are not life-threatening,” said the director general of the Port Authority.
PHOTO ADAM GRAY, REUTERS
Emergency crews respond to a Jazz Aviation plane that collided with a vehicle on the ground at LaGuardia Airport in New York on March 22, 2026.
As for the pilot and co-pilot, “established in Canada”, their death was confirmed at the hospital.
“The loss of our two colleagues aboard Flight 8646 is a profound tragedy,” Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union representing some 80,000 pilots in North America, said in an email to The Press. These pilots have dedicated their careers to the safety of passenger transportation, and our thoughts are all with their families, loved ones and colleagues at Jazz Aviation during this devastating time. »
Passengers were able to reunite with their families at the Air Canada counter, said Mme Garcia, in particular an “unaccompanied minor”.
“Stop Truck 1”
In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller cleared a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac and then attempted to stop it.
PHOTO RYAN MURPHY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A Port Authority fire and rescue vehicle lies on its side near Runway 4 after colliding with a Jazz Aviation plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York on March 23, 2026.
“Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” can be heard over the radio transmission. The controller then frantically diverts other approaching planes.
Air Canada collision audio in New York
LaGuardia Airport, one of the busiest in the world with nearly a thousand aircraft movements per day, will remain closed until 2 p.m., the Port Authority announced. Of nine arrivals scheduled for Monday at Montreal-Trudeau airport from LaGuardia, offered by Air Canada and Delta, eight were canceled. Seven departures of these two companies from Montreal were also canceled. Only two scheduled after 7:30 p.m. are maintained.
“The airport is currently closed to facilitate response operations and allow a thorough investigation to be conducted,” the organization explained on X at 3:09 a.m. “This is an evolving situation, based on preliminary information. The Port Authority Police Department is working closely with our airline partners as well as federal authorities, and will release new information as additional details become available. »
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
Flights to LaGuardia from Montreal-Trudeau airport have been canceled.
On social networks, the federal Minister of Transport, Steven MacKinnon, said he was “deeply saddened” by this “tragic accident”. “Canada is working closely with U.S. authorities as they investigate this incident, and we are monitoring the situation closely,” he wrote.
The US Transportation Safety Agency (NTSB) announced that it had immediately deployed a team to investigate the accident. Air Canada announced at 3:12 a.m. that it had set up a telephone line for relatives of passengers.
With The Canadian Press and AFP
