Pilots killed after jet hits fire truck at NY airport

Gursimran Mehar and Bing Guan |

The front of an Air Canada Express flight was destroyed in a collision that left the pilots dead.
The front of an Air Canada Express flight was destroyed in a collision that left the pilots dead.

An Air Canada Express jet has collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia airport, ‌killing both pilots, injuring dozens and closing the airport, in an incident likely to intensify scrutiny after a series of recent aviation lapses.

The Air Canada Express CRJ-900 plane, operated ‌by its regional partner Jazz Aviation, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members from Montreal, Canada, said Kathryn Garcia, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Garcia said 32 of the 41 injured had been released, while nine remained in hospital with “serious injuries”.

Those injured included passengers, crew members and the two officers aboard the fire truck late on Sunday.

A Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle on its side
A controller was heard telling the fire truck to “stop, stop, stop” moments before the crash. (AP PHOTO)

Both officers remained hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries.

Garcia said the fire truck was responding to ‌a separate United Airlines ‌aircraft that had “reported an issue with ⁠odour”.

Minutes earlier, air traffic control (ATC) audio from LiveATC.net indicated that a United Airlines flight had declared an emergency due ​to an odour onboard.

Controllers advised the crew that fire trucks were already on site.

A second transmission then shows a fire truck was cleared to cross Runway 4, where the collision occurred, at taxiway “Delta”.

Moments later, according to the ATC audio, a controller can be heard saying: “Stop, stop, stop, truck 1 stop, truck 1, stop.”

Port Authority executive director Kathryn Garcia speaks to reporters
The fire truck had been heading to another plane when the collision happened, Kathryn Garcia said. (AP PHOTO)

The aircraft struck the fire vehicle at a speed of about 40km/h, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.

Photos taken by Reuters after the ⁠accident showed visible damage to the nose of the plane, which was tilted upward.

Air Canada ‌referred Reuters to Jazz’s ​statement and said it was aware of the incident.

Jazz had earlier acknowledged the collision and said it would provide further details when available.

The US National ​Transportation Safety Board said it was deploying a team of technical experts to investigate the incident, while the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the airport was expected to remain shut ​until Monday afternoon.

The closure of one of New York’s busiest airports will add to travel disruption caused by the weeks-long partial government shutdown.

A crashed Air Canada Jet sits on the runway at LaGuardia Airport
Dozens of people were injured in the crash and the airport will be closed until Monday afternoon. (AP PHOTO)

Absences among transportation security workers have soared, leading to lengthy lines for passengers at major US airports.

New York City’s emergency notification system said people could expect ​cancellations, ​road closures, traffic delays and emergency personnel near the airport.

About 537 flights ​had been cancelled at the airport so far on Monday, according to tracking website ‌FlightAware.

LaGuardia served more than 30 million annual passengers in 2025, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and a wide range of US airlines operate at the airport.

According to the FAA, there have been 97 runway incursions in January this year, compared with 133 incidents during the same period in 2025.

A bipartisan group of US House lawmakers in February proposed legislation to address 50 aviation safety recommendations issued after a year-long investigation into the January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and ​a US Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.

Reuters