Pilot, co-pilot dead after Air Canada Express plane hits fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia airport

Posted on by Taiwo Adebulu
canada 6

2 min readUpdated: Mar 23, 2026 04:11 PM IST

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An Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck on the runway at New York’s LaGuardia airport on Monday evening, killing the pilot and co-pilot and causing incoming traffic to be diverted, Reuters has reported.

The CRJ-900 plane, which was coming ⁠in from ​Montreal, struck the Port Authority vehicle at a speed of about 24 miles per hour (39 kph) while landing, the agency reported Flightradar24 as showing.

There were 72 passengers and four crew members on board the aircraft, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to a statement from the airline. Jazz Aviation is Air Canada’s ​regional partner.

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The flight originated at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, the major airport serving Montreal. It struck a rescue and firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident at about 11:45 p.m. The airport was closed as of 3 a.m. to facilitate the investigation, reported the Associated Press.

FAA orders halt, flights diverted

Following the incident, the ​US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) o⁠rdered all flights at the airport to stop until 05:30 GMT. It said the decision  was taken due to an emergency and that the delay could be extended. The FAA has not specified any other details.

LaGuardia’s website showed ⁠arriving planes had ⁠been diverted to other airports or returned to their point of origin.

In ⁠a ‌separate notice to airmen, the FAA ​said that the airport could be ‌shut until 1800 GMT.

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The New York Fire Department ​in a statement said that it ⁠was responding to a reported incident involving a plane and a vehicle on the runway at LaGuardia ‌airport.

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