Air Canada Flight Crashes at LaGuardia, Two Pilots Killed

Two Air Canada pilots are dead after their flight from Montreal crashed upon landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport Sunday night.

The Jazz Aviation flight, carrying 72 passengers and four crew, struck a fire truck on the runway around 11:30 p.m. on March 22. The aircraft, a Mitsubishi CRJ-900, sustained severe damage to its cockpit.

Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, confirmed the two Canadian-based pilots died in the crash. Forty-one people were hospitalized; nine remain in care, some in serious condition.

Two Port Authority firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The fire truck was crossing the runway en route to a United Airlines flight reporting an odor during takeoff.

LaGuardia Airport was shut down until 2 p.m. Monday to allow the National Transportation Safety Board and Transportation Safety Board of Canada to investigate. Air traffic recordings captured controllers attempting to halt the vehicle moments before impact.