Air Canada Express Plane Crash: Two dead in New York flight collision at LaGuardia Airport

An Air Canada Express plane, operated by Jazz Aviation, crashed at New York's LaGuardia Airport (LGA), leaving the pilot and co-pilot dead in the tragic incident, as reported by NBC News. The airport will stay shut until at least 1800 GMT, the port authority informed in a post on X

The pilot and copilot of the Air Canada Express flight lost their lives, sources told NBC News, adding that dozens others were injured in the incident.

Also read: New York's Plane Crash: Air Canada Express flight collides with fire truck, closing LaGuardia Airport


United States' National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has launched a 'Go Team' to investigate the Jazz Aviation, Air Canada Express Flight 8646, CRJ900 that collided with a fire truck on Runway 4 of LaGuardia Airport.

Jazz Aviation responds to the incident

In a release issued on Monday, Jazz Aviation LP confirmed that an incident involving AC8646 operated by a CRJ900 has occurred at LaGuardia (LGA).

Flight 8646 was en route to LGA from Montréal (YUL), it said. The preliminary passenger list indicates the Air Canada Express aircraft was carrying 72 passengers and 4 crew members, although this is subject to confirmation.

The incident occurred at approximately 11:47PM on March 22, 2026.

Visuals indicate that the nose and cockpit of the Air Canada Express plane were heavily damaged, after it hit the firefighting vehicle which was responding to another incident at the airport.

As per a Reuters report, the airport's air traffic control audio broadcast from LiveATC.net indicated that a United Airlines flight had declared an emergency due to an odor reported onboard. Controllers told the aircraft that fire trucks were available on site.

A second transmission then showed a fire truck was cleared to cross Runway 4, where the collision occurred, at taxiway'Delta".

Moments later, according to the ATC audio, a controller could be heard saying: "Stop, stop, stop, truck 1 stop, truck 1,stop. "NBC News, citing sources, said the fire truck was manned by police officers.

LaGuardia Airport closed

The airport authority announced closure of the airport for all airlines and activated emergency response protocols following incident involving an Air Canada Express plane and a fire truck.

"The Port Authority Police Department is on scene along with the agency’s Chairman and Executive Director," it said in a statement.

The airport is currently closed to facilitate the response and allow for a thorough investigation of the incident. "This is a developing situation based on preliminary information. The Port Authority Police Department is working closely with our airline partners as well as federal authorities and will provide additional updates as more details become available," it said.

The aircraft struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident.

The US aviation authority has ordered airlines to halt operations at the airport, and ground all the flights, adding there was a "high" likelihood of an extended suspension.

"The airport is currently closed to facilitate the response and allow for a thorough investigation," the port authority said in a statement to AFP. Emergency response protocols had been "immediately activated," it said.

New York's emergency management authority warned people to "expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays & emergency personnel," and use alternate routes near the airport.

LaGuardia Airport (LGA) had already been suffering from flight disruptions due to poor weather, the airport said on X. Another disruption at the airport involves staffing issues as the authority said passengers may experience longer than usual wait timesto pass security checkpoints due to staffing impacts from the federal funding lapse.

LaGuardia is New York's third-busiest airport, serving 33.5 million passengers in 2024, according to port authority figures. It completed an $8 billion redevelopment in 2024, upgrading its aging infrastructure with new terminals and roadways.


(With inputs from agencies)