Air Canada Express CRJ-900 Collides With Airport Vehicle at LaGuardia

NEW YORK — Late Sunday, a QX regional jet hit a Port Authority ground vehicle at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA). This led to an emergency response and a temporary FAA ground stop at one of the country’s busiest airports.

Reuters reports that the aircraft was a Bombardier CRJ-900 operated by Jazz Aviation (LP)—Flight JZA646/QK646, arriving from Montréal (YUL). The collision happened while the plane was landing at LGA, Runway 4. The FAA called for a ground stop due to an “emergency,” and the airport’s website showed that arriving flights were either diverted or sent back to their original airports.

According to the Associated Press, the incident happened at about 11:38 p.m. local time and involved a Port Authority vehicle. Emergency crews responded at the scene. As of AP’s report, officials had not confirmed any details about injuries.

Images of the collision site show the regional jet stopped on the airfield. The aircraft’s nose section appears heavily damaged and crumpled, with torn metal and exposed structure around the front. The fuselage sits slightly angled up in the front, and a set of portable passenger stairs is positioned at a forward door area.

Eyewitness accounts describe the aircraft tilting back as the passengers deplaned.

FlightRadar24 reported that the vehicle involved was an airport rescue and firefighting (ARFF) truck. While some early social media posts mentioned injuries, officials have not yet confirmed their severity, but reports are surfacing that the pilot and copilot did not survive the collision.

Sequence of events

Air traffic control audio from LGA suggests that "Truck 1 & Company" requested ATC permission "to cross 4 at Delta" and was subsequently cleared to do so. The vehicle then confirmed it was crossing 4 at Delta. ‍

A second later, the controller can be heard urgently saying “Frontier 195, stop, stop, truck 1...stop, truck 1...” as he tried to avert the collision. The controller later confirmed, "JAZZ646 collided with vehicle."

The recording also includes instructions for go-arounds and runway changes, indicating that Runway 4/22 was closed after the incident.

This story is still developing. Airways will provide updates as the FAA, Port Authority, Air Canada (AC), and emergency services share more information.