Two pilots dead, 41 people hospitalized after Air Canada plane hits fire truck when landing at LaGuardia, causing airport closure

Joe Marino, Reuven Fenton, Zoe Hussain, Larry Celona and Chris Bradford
NY Post
Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:38 UTC

© REUTERS

An Air Canada passenger plane smashed into a rescue truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday — killing two pilots and hospitalizing 41 others in the horrific crash that obliterated the front of the jet and forced the major travel hub to close for most of Monday.

The Bombardier CRJ-900 jet landing from Montreal with 72 passengers and four crew members was landing shortly before midnight when it smashed into the truck responding to an unrelated emergency.

Audio caught an air traffic controller frantically trying to avoid the deadly smash, repeatedly crying out, "Stop, stop, stop, stop!"

He was later heard admitting, "I messed up."

© obtained by NY Post

Debris hangs from the front of a damaged Air Canada Express jet that collided with a fire truck

Horrific images showed the front of the commuter plane obliterated and tilted up in the air, with debris and cables hanging from the mangled cockpit after the 24 mph smash.

The pilot and co-pilot in the mangled front were both killed, sources told The Post, with many of the 72 passengers and four crew members on the landing jet also injured. No identities have yet been released.

The 41 hospitalized included two cops on the rescue truck.

The pair, who work on the Port Authority Police Department's Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter Unit, which is staffed by police to respond to aircraft emergencies, suffered broken bones and are expected to survive, sources said.

They had been responding to a United Airlines flight that declared an emergency after a strong odor turned on warning lights and left the crew feeling sick, according to reports.

A female flight attendant was also thrown through the front of the plane while still in her seat — and survived. Port Authority cops helped rescue her, and she was brought to the hospital, sources added.

Kathryn Garcia, the Port Authority Executive Director, told reporters that of 41 people taken to the hospital, 32 have since been released.

She revealed some were "seriously injured" but didn't provide an exact number.

The Air Canada flight was carrying a group of Orthodox Jews from the New York area, sources told The Post.

Some of the injured were taken to the Elmhurst and Queens Presbyterian hospitals

Air traffic control audio obtained showed that the rescue truck had been cleared to cross Runway 4 at taxiway D — though the tower controller can be heard repeatedly yelling at "Truck 1" to stop before dispatching more Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) units to the scene.

Photos captured the ARFF truck completely mangled and toppled onto its side, as well as the aircraft's obliterated front.

The images also showed debris scattered across the runway as emergency personnel assessed the wreck.

LaGuardia Airport issued an alert late Sunday warning that rainy and cloudy weather could disrupt operations at the travel hub.

The transport hub's closure sparked widespread chaos Monday — with the major hub closed until at least 2 p.m., the airport warned.

It came as the New York area has already been hit hard by long lines from the Transit Security Administration funding crisis.

Drivers have been urged to avoid the area around LaGuardia. LaGuardia served more than 30 million passengers across 2025.