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

NEW YORK — Late Sunday, an Air Canada Express (QX) CRJ-900 regional jet collided witha 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.

The Bombardier CRJ-900, operated by Jazz Aviation (LP)—Flight JZ8646/QK8646, was on arrival 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.

Collision

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 4195, 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.

UPDATE 9:00 AM EST

The NTSB is on the scene and gave a short public briefing. There were 72 passengers on the plane, with nine currently at the hospital in serious condition. Both pilots were killed. The Delta Air Lines (DL) truck was responding to an order on one of its aircraft.

Further briefings from the NTSB are expected today, and more flights are being diverted to New York’s JFK and Newark (EWR) airports.

Delta said at 7:00 a.m. ET that LGA is closed through 2:00 p.m. after a collision involving an the CRJ-900 and the Port Authority fire truck. DL said it has suspended LGA operations, is reaccommodating affected customers, and warned further schedule adjustments are possible if the closure runs longer.