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Air Canada Express (Jazz) Canadair CRJ-900LR plane crash

New York, New York, USA
Air Canada Express (Jazz) Canadair CRJ-900LR plane crash - New York, New York, USA

Key facts

Airline
Air Canada Express (Jazz)
Flight number
AC-8646
Aircraft
Canadair CRJ-900LR
Location
New York, New York, USA
Date
22nd March, 2026
People on board
76
Fatalities
2

Updated on

Accident account

An Air Canada express (Jazz) Canadair CRJ-900 took off from Montreal, Canada for a passenger flight to New York La Guardia, NY, USA. 72 passengers and 4 crew members were onboard. The plane collided with a fire truck during landing. The captain and first officer died in the accident, two fire fighters on board the truck received serious injuries, 9 passengers received serious injuries, 32 passengers received minor injuries.

During the same period, emergency services were responding to a separate incident involving a United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8, which had declared an emergency due to a noxious odor on board following two rejected takeoffs from runway 13. Fire truck was instructed to proceed to the aircraft and was cleared by air traffic control to cross runway 04 at taxiway D. At the time, the controller was handling both ground and tower frequencies. Shortly thereafter, as the Air Canada Express CRJ-900, which had been cleared to land on runway 04, was on short final and subsequently in its landing rollout, the controller issued multiple urgent stop instructions to the fire vehicle; however, these were transmitted too late to prevent a runway incursion. The CRJ-900, traveling at approximately 114 knots (211 km/h) at taxiway D according to ADS-B data, collided with the fire truck while decelerating on the runway. Following impact, the aircraft continued to skid along the runway before coming to a stop.

VIDEO SEQUENCE

Fatal Runway Collision at New York LaGuardia: CRJ-900 Strikes Fire Vehicle

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Footage capturing the moment of impact between the CRJ-900 and the fire truck
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Accident location

The aircraft (Canadair CRJ-900LR)

Aircraft similar to the one which crashed (Canadair CRJ-900LR)
Aircraft similar to the one which crashed (Canadair CRJ-900LR)