'Stop, Truck 1. Stop': Two Killed As Air Canada Flight Crashes Into Fire Truck At New York's LaGuardia Airport

New Delhi: At least two people were killed as an Air Canada flight collided with a fire truck after landing at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night (local time).

The aircraft struck the firetruck on the runway, crushing the nose of the plane, according to authorities and photos of the wreckage. Two people were killed, according to the Associated Press, which quoted a person familiar with the investigation into the crash.

An Air Canada Jet sits on the runway at LaGuardia Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, after colliding with a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle in New York. (AP)

There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the CRJ-900 plane, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to a statement from the airline. The flight originated at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, the major airport serving Montreal.

"At approximately 11:40 pm on Sunday, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada was involved in an incident on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in which the aircraft struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident," the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.

An Air Canada Jet sits on the runway at LaGuardia Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, after colliding with a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle in New York. (AP)

Stairways used to evacuate passengers from the aircraft were pushed up to the emergency exits on the jet. In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it.

“Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” the transmission says. The controller can then be heard frantically diverting incoming aircraft from landing.

Jazz Aviation issued a statement confirming the accident and noting the passenger and crew list was preliminary and subject to confirmation.

The New York Police Department also confirmed the collision but could not immediately offer additional information. A spokesperson for the New York City Fire Department said firefighters responded to reports of a plane that crashed into a vehicle on the runway.

Firetrucks lineup outside LaGuardia Airport on Monday. (AP)

Multiple videos taken by bystanders and posted on social media showed the jet with severe damage to the front of the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration's National Airspace System website reported LaGuardia has closed. All departing flights from LaGuardia had been either delayed or cancelled as of early Monday, the airport’s website showed.

Flight tracking platform FlightRadar24 said an Air Canada Express plane had “collided with an airport rescue and firefighting vehicle” while landing. It “was rolling down the runway when it struck” the vehicle as it crossed its path, according to FlightRadar24. The Air Canada aircraft with a badly damaged nose and cockpit area was seen on a runway at night, with emergency vehicles nearby.

An Air Canada Jet sits on the runway at LaGuardia Airport, Monday, March 23, 2026, after colliding with a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle in New York. (AP)

New York’s emergency management authority warned people to “expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays & emergency personnel” near the major transport hub in the borough of Queens. “Use alternate routes,” it said on X.

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