New video, audio give insight into moments leading up to deadly LaGuardia crash
Delays are expected to last through the end of the week at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, one of the nation’s busiest airports, as investigators work to determine what caused a deadly crash on Monday. Newly released video shows the moment an Air Canada passenger jet collided with a fire truck on the runway.
Chilling surveillance footage has emerged showing the moment Air Canada Flight AC8646 collided with a Port Authority fire truck on the runway at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) last night.
Authorities have confirmed that both pilots were killed in the crash. Dozens of passengers,… pic.twitter.com/wCCGY9kt4o
— aircraftmaintenancengineer (@airmainengineer) March 23, 2026
What led up to the deadly collision is still under investigation, but early details point to a chain of events involving another flight.
What we know so far
The fire truck was responding to a United plane after the crew reported a strong odor in the cabin and feeling sick. At the same time, Air Canada Express flight 8646 from Montreal was approaching the runway.
Passengers onboard said a flight attendant warned of an emergency landing before they touched down on the runway then the crash happened.
Air traffic control audio shows a controller clearing the fire truck to go ahead and cross the runway — then urgently trying to stop it.
After the crash, an air traffic controller can be heard on recordings saying staff was “dealing with an emergency earlier” and “I messed up.” It’s not clear if it’s the same air traffic controller.
Personnel shortage wasn’t the issue
The incident comes as the U.S. faces a shortage of air traffic controllers. However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said during a news conference Monday that staffing was not the issue at LaGuardia.
Duffy said the “rumor” that the LaGuardia controller was working alone is “inaccurate.”
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The last deadly crash at LaGuardia was exactly 34 years ago. On March 22, 1992 a Cleveland-bound USAir flight crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 27 of the 51 people on board.
“This airport has a target of 37 controllers at LaGuardia,” Duffy said. “We have 33 controllers employed, certified, at LaGuardia, and we have seven that are in training. So as our airports go, LaGuardia is a a very well-staffed airport. We’re a couple of controllers short in total, but it is a well-staffed airport.”
New York’s WNBC-TV reported that the controller in the tower was handling two positions at the time of impact, citing two sources, on Monday.
Concerns raised in the past
A CNN review found pilots have raised concerns about miscommunication at LaGuardia.
At least a dozen reports were filed last summer through NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System. One even reportedly cited a close call when air traffic controllers failed to provide appropriate guidance about multiple nearby aircraft.
CNN said one of the complaints compared operations at LaGuardia to those of Reagan National Airport leading up to the deadly midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people in January 2025.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
