A tragic accident at LaGuardia Airport has left two pilots dead and more than 40 people injured after a passenger aircraft collided with an airport fire truck.
The incident occurred late Sunday night into Monday, March 23, 2026, involving an Air Canada Express flight arriving from Montreal to New York City.
The aircraft, identified as Flight 8646, collided with a fire response vehicle that had been cleared onto the same runway while responding to reports of smoke from another plane. The crash is believed to have been caused by a communication error involving air traffic control instructions.
Both the pilot and co-pilot were killed instantly when the front section of the aircraft was severely damaged upon impact. At least 41 others including passengers and emergency responders were injured.
According to officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, many of the injured were treated in hospital, with 32 already discharged after receiving minor care.
Audio recordings reportedly captured air traffic controllers instructing the fire truck to stop, but the warning came too late to prevent the collision.
The aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ-900 operated by Jazz Aviation, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members at the time of the accident.
Following the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily suspended all arrivals and departures at LaGuardia Airport until midday, leading to the cancellation of more than 400 flights.
Authorities have since launched a full investigation to determine the exact cause of the incident at one of the busiest airports in the United States, which typically handles around 900 flights daily.