New York’s LaGuardia Airport was closed on March 23 after an Air Canada Express jet collided with a fire truck on the airport’s runway the night before, killing two pilots and injuring dozens, officials said.
The Air Canada Express passenger plane was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members when it collided with an emergency vehicle late on March 22, Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said at a news conference. Garcia said the Port Authority’s Aircraft Rescue Fire Vehicle was responding to another aircraft operated by United Airlines that reported an odor problem.
In a statement released on March 23, Air Canada identified its commercial aircraft as a Jazz Aviation Mitsubishi CRJ-900 and said the crash occurred around 11:30 p.m.
Jazz Aviation, which operates as Air Canada Express, confirmed in a statement that evening that the plane was headed from Montreal to LaGuardia. Photos from the crash scene showed visible damage to the nose of the plane, which pitched upwards.
Garcia announced that 41 passengers and crew members were taken to hospitals. Thirty-two of them were released, but some suffered “serious injuries.” The injured included two police officers who were on the fire truck, and both remain hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of two Jazz employees and extend our deepest condolences to the entire Jazz community and their families,” Air Canada said in a statement, adding that aviation authorities could not yet confirm “the exact number of injuries or whether there have been any other fatalities at this time.”
“Air Canada and Jazz Aviation teams are preparing to proceed to the scene and further details will be provided through a further statement as soon as possible,” the airlines wrote.
Family and friends who would like information about passengers on Air Canada Express flight AC8646 should call Air Canada at 1-800-961-7099, the airline said.
Garcia said the airport will be closed until at least 2 p.m. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will be on the scene and will lead the investigation. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration would send a team to assist the NTSB with its investigation.
“Our prayers this morning are for the families affected by the landslide at LaGuardia Airport,” Duffy said on social media.
More than 540 flights canceled at LaGuardia Airport
Some 543 flights to and from the airport were canceled on March 23, according to tracking website FlightAware.
New York City’s emergency notification system says flight cancellations, road closures and traffic delays are expected, and emergency personnel may be on hand near the airport. Entrances to LaGuardia Airport in Queens have since reopened, but emergency officials warned travelers “to expect continued delays.”
The closure of one of New York’s busiest airports comes as a partial government shutdown disrupts travel. Absenteeism for Transportation Security Administration employees reached its highest level over the weekend since the partial shutdown began five weeks ago, leaving tens of thousands of employees without pay, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, LaGuardia Airport will serve more than 30 million passengers annually in 2025, and a wide range of U.S. airlines service the airport.
The crash is one of the most recent aviation accidents
According to the FAA, there were 97 runway incursions in January of this year, compared to 133 in the same period last year.
The crash at LaGuardia Airport comes after a year-long investigation into the January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a U.S. military Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River that killed 67 people.
In November, a UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, killing 15 people, including all three of the cargo plane’s crew and 12 people on the ground.
Contributed by: Reuters; Lillian Metzmeyer, Janine Santucci, Thao Nguyen, Charles Ventura. USA Today Network
