Two pilots dead, 2 Port Authority cops
seriously injured dead as Air Canada flight,
emergency vehicle collide at LaGuardia,
causing airport closure: sources
New York Post,
by
Joe Marino
,
Reuven Fenton
,
Zoe Hussain
&
Larry Celona
Original Article
Posted By: ladydawgfan,
3/23/2026 5:03:58 AM
An Air Canada flight arriving at LaGuardia Airport crashed into a rescue truck on Sunday night — leaving two pilots dead and two Port Authority cops seriously injured, according to sources.
Emergency vehicles swarmed Runway 4 at the Queens airport after a regional jet en route from Montreal struck a rescue truck responding to a separate incident just before 11:40 p.m., according to the Port Authority Police Department, the FDNY, and footage captured by the Citizen App.
Images showed the front of the commuter plane smashed and tilting in the air. Sources told The Post that the pilot and copilot aboard the crashed jet were killed.
Post Reply
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Reply 1 - Posted by:
Californian 3/23/2026 7:54:08 AM (No. 2083810)
No info given. Normally this means the responsible party is DEI.
Either way, should never have happened. RIP.
18 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Marzipan4 3/23/2026 8:12:08 AM (No. 2083821)
So awful on so many topics. Though keep in mind how many airports, how many planes, how often does this happen? That air traffic controller will wear this the rest of their life. I could not do their job.
15 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Strike3 3/23/2026 8:19:28 AM (No. 2083826)
A plane in the process of landing always has the right of way unless he was still far enough out to be called off.
18 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
lynngirl122 3/23/2026 8:22:23 AM (No. 2083829)
DEI hundred percent.
16 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
Ruhn 3/23/2026 8:26:55 AM (No. 2083833)
For large airports, there are typically three control frequencies: ground, tower, and departure/approach. From the communication recordings of the incident, it sounds like the ground controller cleared the emergency vehicle to cross the active runway while the regional jet was landing.
7 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
konocti95 3/23/2026 9:04:27 AM (No. 2083853)
Seconds one way or another and this would not have happened. Same thing for the KC-135 tanker collision last week. We live on the edge of a knife but seldom consider it. My heart goes out to the people involved. Make sure to give the people in your life the love they deserve (and the love they don’t deserve) because one never knows.
17 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
crashnburn 3/23/2026 9:24:07 AM (No. 2083861)
DEI hire was my first reaction. I'm afraid that we are going to be stuck with DEI hires for some time to come. The FAA needs to requalify ALL of the controllers who got their certifications during the AutoPen Presidency. Period. Full Stop.
I agree with a landing plane always has the right of way, and airliners use jet engines which take some time to spool up after full throttle is applied. Even if the pilot had seen the truck on the runway, he wasn't going to be able to go-around.
Also, from what I understand (no direct knowledge) that ground and tower controllers work side by side, so they can talk to each other directly. Obviously, there was a communications failure.
8 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
anniebc 3/23/2026 10:40:39 AM (No. 2083897)
FTA
"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.”
"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."
5 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
konocti95 3/23/2026 11:41:44 AM (No. 2083940)
Rather than, “Truck 1 stop!” it should have been, “Truck 1, plane landing, get off the runway!” Needless to say, in bad weather with low visibility, it’s difficult to see a plane going 150 mph a mile or more away. Those big fire engines, with tons of water, aren’t built for fast acceleration.
2 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
DVC 3/23/2026 11:42:29 AM (No. 2083942)
Landing roll out, the time when the ground speed is highest and the amount of 'dodge' that the crew can do is minimal. And some idiot ground controller apparently cleared a fire truck, at night, to cross an active runway.
How long had the controller been working?
Was the controller selected for competence or 'other reasons'?
How many times had the controller made serious errors previously?
8 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
nelsonted1 3/23/2026 12:09:30 PM (No. 2083965)
I was on a flight last week that a sudden manuever.
The landing gear was down and just seconds before touch down the pilot pulled up with roaring engines and began to circle for another try. I have never been on a plane pulling up out of a landing situation and was questioning what just happened.
The pilot announced he was landing when they realized another airliner was on the runway!!!!
How could a plane land while another was still on the runway! I couldn't understand the process. Did the taxiing plane break down? Did our pilot see the problem while air traffic control couldnt? Was our pilot a cowboy who did something he clearly , obviously shouldnt? Did air traffic control forget to check if the runway was clear? Who was at fault? I chose air traffic control.
Ill never know what happened but someone really, really screwed up.
5 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Safari Man 3/23/2026 2:22:05 PM (No. 2084014)
My kneejerk reaction was DEI. It’s amazing how good my knees have been lately. Four years of Biden left a permanent stain.
2 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
DVC 3/23/2026 2:53:16 PM (No. 2084023)
Re #11, that is called a "go around" and a go around is ALWAYS in order if something isn't literally PERFECT in the approach to landing. Your pilot did the right thing. A go around hurts nothing at all except burning a bit of fuel and time.
8 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 3/23/2026 3:53:23 PM (No. 2084045)
I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of the controller who caused this Air Canada crash and killed two pilots. Regardless, if the controller was a DEI hire or just plain screwed up despite the late hour, this individual just ended his/her/its career as a controller. On the other hand, maybe the individual eventually goes on as the most cautious controller on the planet with two human lives on his/her/its mind always.
6 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
NYbob 3/23/2026 4:26:02 PM (No. 2084050)
Human error on a flight controllers part. Overworked, or he just missed the checklist. Maybe a good case for automated backup. Not full Ai, but perhaps an interlock that everyone is keyed into that gives priority to aircraft on an approach run. All of this was caused by an aborted takeoff of another aircraft that smelled smoke in the cabin and was sitting off runway waiting for a gate. That crisis prepped this screw up. Why any ground vehicle at an airport isn't on active runway communications 24/7, seems really careless. Tragic.
4 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
crashnburn 3/23/2026 4:34:40 PM (No. 2084057)
#11, I'm no expert pilot, but I've landed a lot at towered airports. At untowered airports, two or more p[anes on the same patch of asphalt is a violation.
At towered airports, if a controller calls out "Spacing is good", you can have two planes on the same runway. In your case, it might be your pilot was on final waiting for the "Spacing is good" call that never came and at the last minute he executed a go around to avoid a violation or worse, a crash.
If you are so low on fuel you can't go around, all concerned will make sure there are no runway conflicts.
4 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
DVC 3/23/2026 4:47:09 PM (No. 2084066)
Listening to the voice of the controller, I hear a white guy with a NYC accent.
I could be wrong.
That doesn't sound like a DEI hire.
6 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
anniebc 3/23/2026 9:57:09 PM (No. 2084136)
Maybe the white guy was selected for other reasons, since white guys don't crash planes or make mistakes. /s
Contrary to what many people believe, there are white guy clubs out there where white men look out for each other, and they are not the best qualified. It's not your DEI (I'm against DEI), but it happens by some other name.
3 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
DVC 3/23/2026 10:47:25 PM (No. 2084147)
Re #18, ridiculous.
Many here have been suggesting that tge error was made by a DEI hire. I heard a normal white guy...who are NEVER hired for anything except competence.
And even competent people make mistakes, especially when they are tired or overloaded.
2 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
anniebc 3/24/2026 9:47:37 AM (No. 2084289)
What's ridiculous is assuming every time there's an accident or mishap it's due to a DEI hire. Accidents happen all the time and happen with the highest qualified. "NEVER"? Maybe someone can explain what is a normal white guy versus anyone else. Go.
1 person likes this.
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Comments:
Tragic.