US EditionAir traffic control recordings offer glimpse into situation before LaGuardia crash
Air Canada Flight 8646 struck a fire truck cleared on Runway 4 after United 2384 declared emergency; two pilots died and LaGuardia Airport was closed, officials said.
- On Sunday night, Air Canada Flight 8646 collided with a fire truck on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport, New York City, killing the two pilots after touchdown.
- After an odour report, emergency crews were dispatched and Tower cleared 'Truck 1' and company to cross Runway 4 while Flight 8646 was inbound, and controllers shouted 'stop' seconds before impact.
- Nineteen seconds before impact, the tower cleared 'Truck 1' to cross Runway 4 while Flight 8646 was inbound, and nine seconds before impact the controller can be heard saying 'stop' more than 10 times, later saying 'I messed up'.
- Emergency crews closed the runway and subsequently LaGuardia Airport immediately after the collision, and investigators on site began reviewing the crash scene as The Canadian Press published its report March 23, 2026.
- Investigators are reviewing air traffic control radio transmissions, focusing on overlapping clearances issued as Flight 8646 was inbound and fire trucks were crossing Runway 4.
17 Articles
17 Articles
LaGuardia Airport air traffic controller repeatedly called for vehicle to "stop, stop, stop" in deadly collision
Audio from ATC.com captures air traffic controllers speaking to the emergency ground responders who were on their way to a report of an odor in the cabin of a United Airlines flight.
“I messed up”: harrowing ATC audio emerges after fatal LaGuardia crash
“We were dealing with an emergency earlier and I messed up.” The air traffic controller's voice at New York's LaGuardia Airport sounds shaken in tower frequency recordings released through LiveATC.net, barely twenty minutes after an Air Canada plane collided with a fire truck on the runway, killing the pilot and copilot.
NTSB is investigating Air Canada crash, but TSA lines hindered an investigator's arrival at LGA, chair says
Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesTwo pilots died in a collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport.The NTSB is investigating the crash, but TSA delays hindered an investigator's arrival at LaGuardia.Operations at LaGuardia are slowly resuming, with one runway still closed due to the incident.The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the Air Canada crash that killed two pilots at LaGuardia on Sunday, but othe…
LaGuardia Crash Underscores Pressures on Already Strained Air Traffic Control Workforce
(AP) – Just before an Air Canada jet collided with an airport fire truck, air traffic controllers at New York’s LaGuardia Airport were juggling a developing late night emergency on the runway. A United Airlines flight had twice aborted takeoff and reported an odor coming from the back of the plane. But with no gate […]
The rescue vehicle was on its way to a United Airlines plane that had reported a mysterious smell in the cabin. Then Flight 8646 arrived. According to an expert, a “brain leak” may have caused the
Air traffic controllers were dealing with different emergency at time of LaGuardia collision
While the Air Canada Express Flight was descending into LGA just before midnight on Sunday, air traffic controllers were dealing with an incident on a separate aircraft.
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