According to US media reports, an Air Canada Express passenger plane collided with a fire truck on a LaGuardia Airport runway on Sunday. A pilot and a co-pilot with at least 13 people, including two firefighters, were injured when the flight collided with a fire engine on runway 4 of the airport.
The incident took place around 11:38 pm (local time) when a fire truck from the Port Authority police department collided with a plane as it was landing.
The plane was coming from Montreal, struck the vehicle at a speed of about 24 miles per hour (39 kph) at the airport in New York City’s Queens borough.
In addition, as per LaGuardia Airport’s website, all planes that were about to arrive have either diverted to another airport or returned to their point of origin.
The collision occurred as the plane was operated by regional carrier Jazz Airlines and was going to a gate as heavy weather hit the area.
Also Read: TVS Ronin Cafe Racer Variant Revealed via Design Patent – Here’s What to Expect
According to the reports, there were around 72 passengers on board along with the four crew members. These conditions are being evaluated. Also, the New York Post said the plane was carrying a group of orthodox jews from the New York area.
The truck was then cleared to cross runway 4 to respond to the United 737 Max flight, which had declared an emergency on the ground because of a strange odour that was making the flight attendants sick.
According to the reports, the US Federal Aviation Administration has issued a ground stop for all planes at the airport, as per the notice from the regulator.
The notice from the FAA showed that the reason for the halt at the airport was an emergency, and there was a high probability of an extension.
Also Read: IPL vs PSL Row Heats Up: PCB Warns Legal Action as Players Switch to IPL 2026
Air Traffic Control Audio
As per reports, the fire truck was responding to a separate United Airlines aircraft that reported an issue with odor.
Before that, air traffic control audio from LiveATC. net shows that a United Airlines flight had declared an emergency due to an odor onboard. Controllers advised the crew that fire trucks were already on site.
Later, the second transmission shows that a fire truck was cleared to cross Runway 4.
After that, as per the ATC audio, a controller can be heard saying: “Stop, Stop, stop, truck1 stop, truck1, stop.”
LaGuardia Airport remains closed while officials are checking the cause of the collision.
Cancellations and Delays at LaGuardia
As per Reuters, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said that it was deploying a team of technical experts to study the incident. On the other hand, the US FAA said the airport will be shut till Monday, 2 pm ET.
Also, New York City’s emergency notification system said people can expect road closures, traffic delays, cancellations, and emergency personnel near the airport.
About 537 flights had been canceled at the airport so far on Monday.
Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S26 Series Can Now AirDrop Files to iPhones – Here’s How It Works
Rising Aviation Safety Concerns: Recent Runway and Air Crash Incidents
As per the FAA, there were 97 runway incursions in January this year, and there were 133 incidents during the same period last year.
A bipartisan group of US House lawmakers last month asked for 50 aviation safety recommendations issued after a year-long study into the January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a US Army black hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.
In addition, last year, a cargo plane crashed in Louisville, Kentucky, killing seven and injuring around 11 on the ground.