NTSB Report Details Lapses in LaGuardia Jet-Truck Crash

A preliminary report from federal investigators has revealed critical communication lapses and equipment shortcomings that contributed to the deadly collision between an Air Canada Express jet and a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on March 22, 2026. The crash, which killed the flight’s two pilots and injured dozens of others, occurred as the plane landed on Runway 4 amid a chaotic emergency response at the busy facility.

Air Canada Express Flight 8646, a CRJ900 regional jet carrying 76 passengers and crew from Montreal, slammed into the lead fire truck around 11:35 p.m. The impact killed Captain Antoine Forest, 30, and First Officer Mackenzie Gunther, 24, both Canadian nationals. Among the 39 people hospitalized were the two crew members in the fire truck and six others with serious injuries. A flight attendant was thrown from the plane onto the tarmac but survived, still strapped to her seat.

The National Transportation Safety Board detailed in its report, released Thursday, how the fire truck was part of a convoy of seven emergency vehicles responding to reports of a strong odor in the cabin of a United Airlines jet, which had made flight attendants ill. The convoy...