US Federal investigators have outlined a series of critical lapses that culminated in a fatal collision between a regional passenger jet and an airport fire truck at LaGuardia Airport, marking the first deadly crash there in more than three decades.
According to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board, the fire vehicle entered an active runway despite illuminated warning lights and lacked a transponder, preventing accurate tracking by the airport’s surface safety system.
AP reported on Friday that the incident unfolded amid unusually heavy late-night air traffic and a simultaneous in-flight emergency involving another aircraft.
The crash occurred on 22 March, when Air Canada Express Flight 8646, arriving from Montreal with 76 people on board, struck the fire truck seconds after touchdown.
The pilots, Antoine Forest, 30, and Mackenzie Gunther, 24, were killed. Thirty-nine others, including two crew members in the truck, were injured and taken to hospital.
Investigators described a high-pressure environment inside the control tower. Although staffing levels were in line with standard scheduling, traffic volumes had surged well beyond expectations due to earlier delays, with arrivals and departures after 10pm more than doubling, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Aircraft were landing at intervals of just a few minutes in the lead-up to the crash.
At the same time, controllers were managing an emergency aboard a departing United Airlines flight reporting a strong odour.
The fire truck involved in the collision was part of a convoy responding to that incident. While a senior controller handled the emergency, another took on both runway operations and ground vehicle coordination.
“These controllers were just way busy, just too busy,” aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti said.
The report also highlighted a significant technological gap. The fire truck and accompanying vehicles were not fitted with transponders, meaning the airport’s advanced surface detection system, designed to prevent such collisions, could not reliably distinguish their positions.
Radar returns became inconsistent, and no automated alert was triggered.
Moments before the crash, the aircraft had been cleared to land. Roughly two minutes later, the fire crew requested permission to cross the same runway.
Clearance was granted when the aircraft was about 100 feet above ground. However, the runway’s automated red warning lights remained illuminated, signalling that it was unsafe to cross.
The lights switched off only seconds before impact, consistent with system design, which extinguishes them shortly before an aircraft reaches an intersection. Former airline pilot John Cox stressed that the visual warning should have overridden the controller’s verbal clearance.
“That’s an automated system so even though the controller says you’re cleared to cross, the lights mean that there’s an airplane that is either on the runway or about to be,” Cox said.
Investigators noted that poor visibility conditions, including darkness and wet pavement, may have made the lights harder to see.
The final moments revealed confusion and limited reaction time. Nine seconds before impact, a controller urgently transmitted: “Stop, stop, stop, stop. Truck 1. Stop, stop, stop, stop.”
The fire truck’s turret operator later told investigators he initially heard “stop, stop, stop” but did not realise the instruction was directed at their vehicle until hearing “Truck 1”. By then, the truck had already entered the runway.
As the vehicle turned, he reported seeing the aircraft’s lights approaching.
“Now we know who he’s talking to, but the first three stop, stop, stop there is ambiguity, if you were listening to it, who he’s talking to,” Cox said.
Even with immediate braking, the outcome may not have changed. The report indicated the truck had accelerated to 29mph before entering the runway. Given its size and weight, stopping distance would have been substantial.
“[It] isn’t going to stop on a dime,” Cox said.
The investigation remains ongoing, with further analysis expected to examine procedural compliance, equipment requirements and workload management at one of the United States’ busiest airports. - April 24, 2026
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