Two pilots have died after an Air Canada Express regional jet collided with a fire truck while landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night. The incident, which closed the airport for several hours, left nine people hospitalised.
The Air Canada Express CRJ-900, operated by Jazz Aviation, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members from Montreal. The collision occurred at about 11.45pm ET as the firefighting vehicle was responding to a separate incident. The pilots were identified as Antoine Forest, 30, of Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec, and Mackenzie Gunther, according to Canadian media.
National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy said an investigation is under way, with the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder recovered. LaGuardia reopened at 2pm on Monday, but the runway where the crash occurred will remain closed due to debris and hazardous material.
In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller was heard on a radio transmission giving clearance for a vehicle to cross part of the runway, then trying to stop it. “Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” the transmission says. The controller then diverted incoming aircraft. Audio released by LiveATC captures a pilot discussing the incident, with one saying, “I messed up,” and another responding, “Nah, man, you did the best you could.”
Donald Trump called the incident “terrible”, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said it was “deeply saddening”. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA was deploying a team to support the investigation, which will also examine air traffic control staffing levels.
Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, described the loss as a “profound tragedy”. The fire truck had been responding to a United Airlines flight that declared an emergency due to an odour. Photos showed significant damage to the plane's nose and the fire truck tipped on its side.
