LaGuardia Runway Collision Kills Two Air Canada Pilots

Overview

• An Air Canada Express CRJ‑900 operated by Jazz Aviation, which landed Sunday night after a flight from Montreal, struck a Port Authority fire‑rescue truck at LaGuardia, killing the captain and first officer and sending 41 people to hospitals, with 32 later discharged.
• Following Sunday’s crash, the FAA ordered a ground stop and the airport suspended operations, and officials say LaGuardia has since reopened at reduced capacity while the affected runway remains closed through at least Friday.
• Tower audio captured a controller clearing the rescue vehicle to cross the runway and then urgently ordering it to stop, and outlets report the truck was responding to a separate aircraft that had reported a strong odor in the cockpit.
• The NTSB is leading the investigation, and its chair, Jennifer Homendy, said the controller who cleared the truck continued working for several minutes after the collision as the board reviews procedures and staffing on the overnight shift.
• Recent NASA safety reports from pilots warned that LaGuardia’s pace and tower workload were pushing limits, a backdrop to the crash that could drive near‑term rule changes on runway crossings and controller tasking.