An Air Canada Express regional jet carrying about 76 people collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday, forcing the airport to temporarily shut down, authorities said.
The pilot and co-pilot of the flight have died after their aircraft collided with a firefighting vehicle, according to NBC News.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is launching a go-team to investigate the crash involving Jazz Aviation-operated Air Canada Express Flight 8646, a CRJ-900 regional jet, which struck a fire truck on Runway 4 late Sunday night.
The aircraft, arriving from Montreal with 72 passengers and four crew members on board, collided with the vehicle at approximately 11:40 p.m. while landing. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the firefighting vehicle was responding to a separate incident when it was hit.
Earlier reports said the pilot and co-pilot were badly injured, while a sergeant and an officer on the fire truck suffered broken limbs and were in stable condition at a hospital.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the plane struck the vehicle at a speed of about 24 miles per hour (39 kph), with its last recorded signal at 11:37 p.m. ET. Images from the scene showed visible damage to the aircraft’s nose, which appeared tilted upward after impact.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop following the crash, with the airport expected to remain shut until 2 p.m. ET on Monday. At least 18 flights were diverted to nearby airports or returned to their points of origin, according to Flightradar24.
Emergency responders, including fire and police teams, rushed to the scene. However, authorities did not immediately provide detailed comments on the extent of injuries. The New York City emergency notification system warned of cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and heavy emergency presence around the airport.
The aircraft was operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Air Canada owned by Chorus Aviation. Air Canada said it was aware of the incident and referred queries to Jazz, which confirmed the passenger count based on a preliminary manifest.
The NTSB and FAA have yet to provide further details as the investigation into the cause of the collision gets underway.
LaGuardia Airport, which handled over 30 million passengers in 2025, remained disrupted for several hours as authorities worked to manage the aftermath of the crash.