Two members of the flight crew were killed after an Air Canada Express regional jet collided with a fire truck while landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday, U.S. authorities and media reports said. NBC News reported the deaths and said dozens of people were also injured.
The aircraft was a CRJ-900 operated by Jazz Aviation on behalf of Air Canada and was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members from Montreal, according to a preliminary passenger list that remained subject to confirmation. Jazz Aviation is owned by Chorus Aviation.
NBC cited sources saying the fire truck was manned by police officers. Earlier reports said a sergeant and an officer suffered broken limbs and were in stable condition in hospital.
Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 said the jet struck the emergency vehicle at about 24 miles per hour (39 kph) and that its last recorded data point was at 11:37 p.m. ET. Reuters photographs taken after the accident showed visible damage to the aircraft’s nose and the plane sitting with its nose tilted upward.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the firefighting vehicle was responding to a separate incident when it was struck at Runway 4. The FAA said LaGuardia was expected to remain closed until 2 p.m. ET on Monday, and Flightradar24 reported that 18 flights had been diverted or returned to their origin, mostly to other New York-area airports.
Air Canada referred inquiries to Jazz’s statement and said it was aware of the incident. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Local authorities and emergency agencies also did not immediately provide comment on the reported fatalities and injuries.
New York City’s emergency notification system warned the public to expect flight cancellations, road closures, traffic delays and a heightened presence of emergency personnel near the airport. LaGuardia handled more than 30 million passengers in 2025, according to the Port Authority.
