The collision happened at 11:40 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to multiple reports. Air Canada flight AC8646, operated by its regional carrier Jazz Aviation, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members when it touched down and slammed into the fire truck, according to Air Canada's regional airline, Jazz Aviation. The incident killed the plane's two pilots, injured dozens of others, and left passengers and witnesses stunned and stranded, multiple reports indicate.
All passengers survived the crash, according to major media sources. Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said the 72 passengers and four crew have been accounted for. Garcia said 41 people were taken to two hospitals in Queens and 32 were eventually released, with nine remaining in care, including some in serious condition. Two Port Authority employees travelling in the fire truck suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to Garcia. Flight attendant Solange Tremblay was thrown from the plane and injured, major media sources report.
The two pilots – who were based out of Canada – died, according to Kathryn Garcia. The pilots were identified as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther. Québec native Antoine Forest, 30, was identified as one of the Air Canada pilots who died in the collision, according to Canadian media reports.
The fire truck was responding to a separate incident involving a United Airlines plane with a mysterious smell. The fire truck had been called out minutes earlier to another plane that reported an issue with odour, according to Port Authority executive director Kathryn Garcia.
The incident injured 41 people who were taken to hospital, some with serious injuries, and shut LaGuardia until Monday afternoon, according to reports. All air traffic to and from La Guardia airport has been stopped, according to the USA's aviation authority FAA. New York's LaGuardia Airport is now reopened following the Air Canada collision on Sunday night, research indicates.
NTSB chairwoman Jennifer Homendy confirmed on Monday that it had begun an investigation, with its team arriving at the site at just after 3:00 a.m. local time. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is deploying a team of investigators to support the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in their investigation, according to research. Air Canada and Jazz Aviation are cooperating with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States in the investigation, the companies said.
Investigators have recovered the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) from the plane crash at LaGuardia airport, research shows. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said the cockpit voice recorder was not damaged and has already been transported to Washington, D.C. for analysis. Homendy said work on the flight data recorder will begin Tuesday, with hope to share information on it tomorrow.
Homendy said investigators are working to determine key details, including the position of the aircraft and the fire truck in the moments before the crash. In audio from the air traffic control tower, a staff member can be heard urging a truck to stop in the seconds before the crash, according to research. The exact positions of the vehicles and what specific actions or failures by the air traffic controller led to the collision remain under investigation.
Air traffic controllers were understaffed and handling multiple roles during the crash, according to National Transportation Safety Board's chair Jennifer Homendy. The Saab surveillance system did not issue a warning before the collision because the vehicles were too close together, according to Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB. These systemic issues raise questions about what safety problems, if any, were present at LaGuardia Airport prior to the crash.
The investigation includes reviewing surveillance footage and air traffic control data, including a replay of the airport surface detection system, according to Jennifer Homendy. Homendy noted the crash scene is extensive, with debris spread across multiple areas of the runway and taxiway.
Homendy said an air traffic controller involved in the crash would typically be removed from duty. Homendy said the agency has information about tower staffing and the controller's role but is not yet prepared to make it public.
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon has spoken with Sean Duffy, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, according to Steven MacKinnon. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the pilot and the first officer were killed in this accident. NAV Canada says safety is our top priority following the LaGuardia crash. Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will retire after criticism for an English-only condolence message, major media sources report.
Key details remain unknown, including what information will be revealed from the analysis of the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder. Investigators are also examining whether systemic safety issues contributed to the crash. The current condition and prognosis of the nine people who remained hospitalized in serious condition has not been publicly disclosed.