The second runway at LaGuardia has reopened, allowing the airport to return to full operational capacity on Thursday, March 26, 2026 after an Air Canada regional jet collided with a Port Authority fire truck on a runway at the LaGuardia Airport in New York City.
The crash resulted in the deaths of both pilots and left dozens of others injured. Air Canada Flight 8646, a CRJ-900 operated by Jazz Aviation, was arriving from Montreal with 76 people on board. The plane struck a fire truck while landing. The truck was crossing the runway to respond to a separate report of an odor on a United Airlines flight.
Preliminary analysis indicates the aircraft was traveling at approximately 104 mph when it hit the truck. The fire truck was overturned, and the plane suffered severe damage, including its cockpit being nearly sheared off. Pilots Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther were killed with roughly 40-43 people hospitalized. Most of the passengers have since been released.
Flight attendant Solange Tremblay survived after being ejected from the plane while still strapped to her seat; she was found more than 300 feet from the wreckage with multiple fractures. Two firefighters inside the truck were injured but are expected to recover.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) with other investigators are looking into crash. Wreckage of the plane and truck were towed from the site.
