Two pilots killed in Air Canada crash at LaGuardia

2026-03-24 - 03:14

Two pilots on board an Air Canada Express aircraft have been killed following a collision with an airport fire engine at LaGuardia Airport in New York, according to foreign media reports. The accident occurred when the aircraft, which had landed at LaGuardia, collided with a fire engine on the runway. The pilot and co-pilot were killed in the incident. A total of 41 people have been hospitalised. Of them, 39 were passengers on board the aircraft, while the remaining two were officers travelling in the fire engine. The aircraft, operating as Air Canada flight 8646 and run by Jazz Aviation, had arrived from Montreal with 70 people on board at the time of the crash. Reports indicate that the fire engine had been responding to an emergency involving a United Airlines aircraft when the collision occurred. The Air Canada aircraft had already landed and was slowing down at approximately 24 miles per hour when it struck the fire engine. Following the incident, authorities temporarily closed LaGuardia Airport. An investigation has been launched, with particular attention being paid to how a fire engine entered the runway while an aircraft was present. Audio recordings have revealed that air traffic control attempted to stop the fire engine, and it is suspected that a communication failure may have contributed to the serious accident.