A tragic collision between an Air Canada flight AC8646 and a fire truck on a runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday resulted in the deaths of two pilots and injuries to 41 people, some serious. The incident occurred at 23:40 local time, forcing the airport to shut down until Monday afternoon and causing hundreds of flights to be delayed or cancelled, creating widespread travel chaos. The fire truck had reportedly been dispatched minutes earlier to another plane that "reported an issue with odour," according to Port Authority executive director Kathryn Garcia.
Passenger and witness accounts depict a scene of terror and confusion. Rebecca Liquori, a passenger on the plane arriving from Montreal, told News12 Long Island: "As we were descending, we hit a lot of turbulence. Then we landed very roughly… Everyone felt it. It was like the plane jolted and you heard the pilot try to brake trying to prevent the collision." Another passenger, Jack Cabot, described to CNN: "We went down for a regular landing. We immediately hit something and it was just chaos from there … Everybody was hunkered down and everybody was screaming." Audio from the air traffic control tower captured a staff member shouting "'Truck One, stop, stop, stop!" seconds before the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has launched an investigation into the cause of the collision. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy confirmed that a team arrived at the site just after 03:00 local time and is analyzing the plane's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, which were undamaged. She noted there is "a tremendous amount of debris" that must be documented and processed as evidence, and the runway will remain closed during the investigation. Homendy emphasized the probe is in its preliminary stages, with a walking inspection completed.
The crash occurred amid a tumultuous period for air travel in the United States, where airports have faced Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staffing shortages due to the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. This has left airport security staff without pay for over a month, leading to increased call-outs and long security wait times. Homendy revealed her investigation team was not spared these delays: "We have one air traffic control specialist who was in line with TSA for three hours until we called in Houston to beg to see if we can get her through." A TSA agent at LaGuardia told the BBC it is "unfortunate" she still must work without pay, with some colleagues calling out sick.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the crash "deeply saddening," while U.S. President Donald Trump described it as "terrible" and "a dangerous business." New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani termed it a "tragic collision" and praised first responders for their swift actions. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) administrator Bran Bedford commented on the deceased pilots: "These were two young men at the start of their career, so it's an absolute tragedy." Officials noted it has been over 34 years since LaGuardia had a fatal incident, highlighting the rarity and severity of the event.
Source: www.bbc.com