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Recently released footage has surfaced, capturing a harrowing incident where an Air Canada aircraft collided with a fire truck on a runway at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, tragically resulting in the deaths of both pilots.
The footage, shared by FDNY Response Videos, depicts the aircraft hurtling along Runway 4 before crashing into a Port Authority fire truck. The truck, with its emergency lights activated, was making a turn when the collision occurred at approximately 11:45 p.m. on Sunday.
An image accompanying the incident shows an Air Canada jet positioned on the runway at LaGuardia Airport the following day, March 23, 2026, after the crash with the Port Authority vehicle. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
The impact caused the emergency vehicle to flip multiple times, while the plane appeared to struggle for control on the slick, rain-drenched runway.
According to an audio recording from air traffic control just before the accident, a controller initially granted permission for the fire truck to cross the tarmac. However, moments later, the controller urgently commanded the driver to halt the vehicle, indicating a sudden awareness of the impending disaster.
An Air Canada Express CRJ-900 sits on the runway after colliding with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
“Stop, truck one. Stop,” the transmission said. “Frontier 4195, stop there please. Stop, stop, stop, stop.”Â
The aircraft then strikes the fire truck, ripping the nose off the plane.
At the time of the collision, the jet was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members, according to officials.Â
Departures board shows canceled flights at LaGuardia Airport after an Air Canada Jet collision in New York, Monday, March 23, 2026. The Air Canada Jet hit a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle after landing. (Dario Alequin for Fox News Digital)
Both pilots aboard the CRJ-900 aircraft were killed in the collision, though their identities have not yet been made public.
Dozens of passengers aboard the plane were also hurt in the crash, and at least two Port Authority firefighters in the truck also suffered “serious injuries,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
A Port Authority spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle was responding to a separate incident as the aircraft was landing on Runway 4 at LaGuardia.
Jack Cabot, a passenger aboard the flight, described many of the passengers as bleeding from their heads.
“I remember looking behind me after we got off and there was some guy with just blood coming off his face,” he said. “A lot of people got pretty hurt.”
By 2 p.m. Monday, officials announced LaGuardia airport had reopened, adding travelers should expect delays or flight cancellations from their airlines as officials work to resume normal operations.Â
“LaGuardia Airport is now open, expect delays and/or cancellations,” airport officials posted on X. “Plan ahead and check with your airline for the latest updates.”