Overview
- An Air Canada Express CRJ‑900 operated by Jazz Aviation struck a Port Authority fire truck while landing at LaGuardia late Sunday, killing the captain and first officer and sending 41 people to hospitals.
- The truck had been cleared to cross the runway to assist a United flight that reported an odor, and tower audio captured urgent stop commands followed by a controller saying, “I messed up,” after the impact.
- NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said investigators recovered the cockpit voice and flight data recorders and transported them to the agency’s Washington lab, and she signaled the crash runway could remain closed for days due to extensive debris.
- Following Sunday’s shutdown, the FAA imposed a ground stop and hundreds of flights were canceled or diverted, and limited operations resumed Monday afternoon on one runway as two injured fire officers remained in stable condition.
- Investigators are reviewing tower‑vehicle coordination and earlier anonymous NASA safety reports that flagged LaGuardia near‑misses and controller workload, and they will weigh how surface surveillance aids alert to conflicts yet still rely on strict clearance procedures.