Kamal Ghorui
An audio clip from the cockpit has revealed the final moments before an Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The accident killed both the pilot and co-pilot and forced the airport to shut down.The air traffic control recording captures a series of urgent and confused instructions as ground vehicles and aircraft moved on the runway shortly before the crash late Sunday night. In the audio, controllers can be heard repeatedly warning a vehicle to halt. “Stop. Stop. Stop,” the controller says multiple times, moments before informing another aircraft that a collision had occurred on the runway.According to officials, the Air Canada Express CRJ-900, operated by Jazz Aviation, struck a Port Authority aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle around 11.40 pm (local time) while landing on Runway 4. The truck had been responding to a separate incident involving another aircraft that had reported an issue.Seconds after the impact, the controller is heard telling the aircraft, “I see you collided with the vehicle… hold position”.Emergency responders were immediately dispatched and the runway along with the entire airport, was shut down to manage the situation. “I repeat, Runway 422 is closed at this Time. Tower car 90, LaGuardia Airport is closed at this time,” the audio ended with this message.Authorities confirmed that the pilot and co-pilot of the aircraft were killed in the collision. Several others were injured, including personnel inside the fire truck, though passengers on board the flight largely avoided major injuries. The aircraft was carrying 72 passengers and four crew members.The audio also reveals the rapid escalation of the situation, with repeated announcements that the runway and eventually LaGuardia Airport had been closed, as emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.Initial reports suggest the fire truck had been cleared to cross the runway, but the exact sequence of events leading to the collision remains under investigation. The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop shortly after the crash, while the National Transportation Safety Board has launched a probe into the incident.Visuals from the scene showed significant damage to the aircraft’s nose, while passengers were evacuated and transported by bus. Flights were diverted or delayed as authorities worked through the night to respond to the emergency.
