Published on : 24 Mar 2026
A note to readers: This article covers a fatal aviation accident in which two people lost their lives. Our thoughts are with the families of the two pilots killed, the injured passengers and crew, and the Port Authority officers who were in the fire truck. We have reported only confirmed facts from official sources and primary news organisations. We will update this article as the NTSB investigation progresses.
Breaking — Developing Story, March 23–24, 2026: At approximately 11:40 p.m. on Sunday March 23, an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 regional jet — operating as Air Canada Flight 8646 from Montreal — collided with a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport. Both pilots were killed. Forty-one people were transported to hospital, including 39 passengers and crew and two Port Authority officers from the fire truck. A flight attendant was found alive outside the aircraft, still strapped to her seat — she had been ejected through a hole in the aircraft’s floor during the collision.
The airport closed immediately after the collision and remained shut through Monday morning. LaGuardia reopened with a single runway at 2 p.m. ET Monday, warning travellers to expect residual delays and cancellations. Runway 4 will remain closed until 7 a.m. Friday, according to a public notice from the FAA.
It is the airport’s first fatal crash in over three decades — the last deadly incident at LaGuardia occurred on the same calendar date in 1992, 34 years ago.
The NTSB has launched a full investigation. Investigators are on site. The cockpit voice recorder has been recovered and confirmed undamaged. The flight data recorder has been retrieved. Early indications from investigators are focused on air traffic control coordination in the seconds before impact.
Published: March 24, 2026 (Monday — developing story, updated as facts confirmed) Incident time: Approximately 11:40 p.m. Sunday March 23, 2026 Aircraft: Air Canada Express CRJ-900 regional jet — operated by Jazz Aviation Flight: Air Canada Flight AC8646 — Montreal (YUL) → New York LaGuardia (LGA) Passengers: 72 passengers + 4 crew on board Fatalities: 2 — both Jazz Aviation pilots (Canadian nationals) ✝️ Hospitalised: 41 total — 39 from aircraft, 2 Port Authority officers from fire truck Discharged by Monday: 32 of 41 hospitalised — some with serious injuries remain Serious injuries: One passenger with brain bleed | One fire truck officer overnight Flight attendant: Ejected from aircraft while strapped to seat — found alive on runway — serious but non-life-threatening injuries Vehicle involved: Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Truck 1 Runway: Runway 4 at LaGuardia — closed until 7 a.m. Friday March 27 Airport closure: Sunday 11:40 p.m. — reopened Monday 2:00 p.m. ET (single runway only) Aircraft speed at impact: Approximately 93–105 mph (FlightRadar24 data) NTSB: Full investigation launched — go-team on site — recorders recovered ATC audio: Published — controller’s “Truck One, stop, stop, stop” captured Investigating agencies: NTSB (lead, US) + Transport Safety Board of Canada (joint) Canadian PM Carney: “Deeply saddening — working with US investigation” NY Governor Hochul: “Heartbreaking” Air Canada CEO Rousseau: Video statement — “we do not have all the answers” Trump: “A mistake was made” Cascade effect: Hundreds of LGA flights cancelled — MIA, ATL, BOS, DCA, ORD all affected Passenger waivers: Delta, American, JetBlue issuing fee-free rebooking for LGA Monday flights to EWR or JFK
10:30 p.m. Sunday March 23: Air Canada Express Flight 8646, a CRJ-900 regional jet operated by Jazz Aviation, departs Montreal Trudeau International Airport (YUL) bound for LaGuardia.
11:37–11:40 p.m.: According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft last recorded data at 11:37pm on Sunday as it approached LaGuardia. The aircraft was cleared to land on Runway 4 in conditions of mist and fog.
Simultaneously: The collision happened as air traffic control was also responding to a separate incident where pilots of United Airlines Flight 2384 aborted their takeoff when an anti-ice warning light came on. They reported an odour in the cabin and requested assistance from firefighters. Port Authority Truck 1 was dispatched from the fire station to the United aircraft.
The clearance: To get from the airport fire station to the United plane, the fire truck was granted permission to cross the runway where the Air Canada plane was landing, according to the air traffic control audio.
The correction — too late: Seconds later, the controller urgently ordered the truck to stop, before saying there had been a collision on the field: “Truck One, stop, stop, stop!” an air traffic controller is heard saying, before addressing the plane seconds later: “JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle.”
The impact: The Air Canada plane, a CRJ 900, suffered significant damage. Images showed the mangled front of the plane lifted into the air and its tail on the tarmac. The front section — the cockpit — was destroyed. Both pilots were killed on impact.
20 minutes later: Roughly 20 minutes after the collision, one of the controllers appeared to blame himself. “We were dealing with an emergency earlier,” the controller said. “I messed up.”
Rebecca Liquori, passenger: “I’m just so appreciative that they were able to save us, but I’m just so sad that they weren’t able to make it home to their families,” she said, her voice breaking. “I wouldn’t be here had it not been for the pilot acting quickly.”
Jack Cabot, passenger: “It was just chaos in there. Everybody was hunkered down and everybody was screaming pretty quickly.”
Timothy Henriksen, passenger on a Frontier flight grounded nearby: “We stopped and then the pilot came on and said there’s been an accident with an Air Canada and a fire truck. We got a really good view of the plane missing the whole front nose.”
Sarah Lépine, daughter of ejected flight attendant Solange Tremblay: “My mom is still in surgery for the injuries on her leg as of now I do not have any more information, it’s a miracle she is alive.”
Frontier pilot, speaking to ATC controller after the crash: “That wasn’t good to watch.” The air traffic controller replied: “Yeah, I know, I was here.”
The NTSB mobilised dozens of team members and launched its investigation from the scene. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy confirmed earlier Monday that Port Authority and other emergency responders cut a hole in the roof of the plane to retrieve the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder. The cockpit voice recorder was confirmed undamaged.
Early indications suggest investigators are focusing on air traffic control coordination. Runway crossings require close communication between the ground controller, who manages vehicles and taxiways, and the tower controller, who manages the runway and aircraft movements. Controllers must ensure the runway is clear before giving a vehicle permission to cross.
Former US Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo told the New York Post: “Once that aircraft was cleared to land…it owned that runway.”
Former FAA safety inspector David Soucie told CNN that the point of impact likely prevented a much more catastrophic outcome: “Because that aircraft hit directly in the middle of the fire truck, the fire truck was moved forward, and the aircraft was damaged in the nose.” He explained that if the truck had been positioned just 40 feet in either direction, “it would have struck against the wing, the fuel cells, the engines.”
On the DHS shutdown question: There is no evidence the shutdown contributed to the collision. Air traffic controllers, unlike TSA agents, are still paid during this partial shutdown. However, the NTSB noted a troubling related detail: the NTSB had to “beg” to get an air traffic control specialist through backed-up TSA security lines — the specialist was waiting in the security line for three hours at an airport in Houston before the NTSB stepped in. “We called — in Houston — to beg to see if we can get her through so we can get her here,” NTSB Chair Homendy said.
LaGuardia’s closure from Sunday night through Monday 2 p.m., followed by its reopening on a single runway, has cascaded through the entire US East Coast aviation network.
The ripple effects of Miami International Airport’s 31 cancellations and 95 delays today are felt across numerous destinations, including the US, Israel, Spain, Mexico, Jamaica and Ecuador. Airlines including American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Spirit and Southwest are grappling with significant delays.
The specific cascade route: LaGuardia handles enormous volumes of shuttle traffic between New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago and Miami. When LaGuardia closes, inbound aircraft that were en route divert to JFK or Newark. The crews and aircraft that were supposed to turn around at LaGuardia for outbound departures are now at the wrong airport. Those outbound flights — to Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago — get cancelled or severely delayed.
Per-airport cascade impact today:
LaGuardia: 11 cancellations (55% of its operations) + 1 delay. Atlanta: 2 cancellations + 3 delays. Houston Bush: 1 cancellation + 1 delay. Charlotte: 1 cancellation. Boston Logan: 2 delays. Reagan National: 2 delays. JFK: 4 delays. Chicago O’Hare: 1 delay. Los Angeles: 1 delay. Barcelona: 1 cancellation. Tel Aviv: 1 cancellation. Doha: 1 cancellation.
Major airlines are waiving rebooking fees and are allowing travellers to rebook themselves on alternate flights departing from either Newark or JFK Airport as long as the original flight was scheduled for Monday and the rebooked flight falls within a specific timeframe this month.
If your LaGuardia flight was cancelled or significantly delayed today:
✅ Delta: Delta.com → My Trips → Change Flight — waiver allows same-day rebook to JFK or EWR at no charge ✅ American Airlines: aa.com → Manage Trips → change to JFK or EWR departures ✅ JetBlue: jetblue.com → Manage Trips — rebook to JFK (JetBlue’s primary New York hub) ✅ United: united.com → My Trips — rebook to EWR (United’s New York hub) ✅ Southwest: Southwest does not operate from JFK or EWR — rebook via LaGuardia when operations normalise or select an alternative routing
Runway 4 closure through Friday: LaGuardia’s runway 4 will remain closed until 7 a.m. Friday. LaGuardia is now operating on reduced capacity with a single active runway. Expect elevated delay risk at LGA through Thursday.
For travellers flying to/from LaGuardia Tuesday–Thursday: Build extra time. A single-runway operation at LaGuardia — one of the most congested airports in the US — will create arrival and departure delay backlogs that extend throughout the day. Allow at minimum 2 extra hours beyond your normal arrival time at the airport.
✅ Step 1 — If your LGA flight was cancelled today: Use your airline’s app to rebook at JFK or EWR. Do not wait in phone queues — apps are significantly faster for straightforward rebooking to alternate New York airports.
✅ Step 2 — If you are flying through LaGuardia Tuesday–Thursday: Check your flight status the morning of travel. Single-runway operations create cascading delays that worsen throughout the day — morning departures are most likely to depart on schedule.
✅ Step 3 — If you are flying into New York this week and LaGuardia is your destination: Consider requesting a rebook to JFK or EWR proactively — some airlines will accommodate this at no charge given the reduced LaGuardia capacity through Friday.
✅ Step 4 — If you were on or near Flight AC8646: Air Canada and Jazz Aviation have established dedicated passenger support lines. Contact Air Canada at 1-888-247-2262 (North America) for travel assistance, refunds or rebooking. Mental health and trauma support resources are available through the Red Cross and through hospital social workers for those who were on board.
✅ Step 5 — Follow the NTSB investigation: The NTSB is the authoritative source for all factual information about this crash. Do not rely on social media speculation about causes. Follow the NTSB at ntsb.gov and @NTSB on X for official investigation updates.
Posted By : Vinay
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