Air Canada Issues Statement After 2 Pilots Die In Crash At New York Airport

A pilot and copilot have died after an Air Canada plane originating from Montreal collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York shortly before midnight on Sunday night.

The flight with Jazz Aviation, Air Canada’s regional airline, was carrying 76 people when it touched down and slammed into a fire truck on a runway at around 11:30 p.m. Kathryn Garcia, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, said that the 72 passengers and four crew members have been accounted for. However, the two pilots – who were based out of Canada – died, she told reporters early Monday morning.

Two Port Authority employees travelling in the fire truck also suffered injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, Garcia said.

“The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the pilot and the first officer were killed in this accident. We are deeply saddened by the loss of two Jazz employees, and our deepest condolences go out to the entire Jazz community and their families,” Air Canada wrote in a statement. “Air Canada cannot confirm the exact number of injuries or if there are other fatalities at the time.”

“Air Canada and Jazz Aviation are cooperating with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States in the investigation of the cause of this incident.”

Doug Clarke, president of Jazz Aviation, said in a statement that it’s an “incredibly difficult day” for the airline.

“As the investigation unfolds, we are fully committed to cooperating with the relevant authorities to determine what happened,” he said.

“We will share updates as soon as verified information becomes available. We will continue to provide our full support in the days and weeks ahead.”

President of the Association of Flight Attendants Sara Nelson said on X that “Our hearts are with the crew, passengers, and their families on Air Canada Jazz flight 8646,” adding that the Airline Pilots Association is “especially in our thoughts as we face this tragedy.”

Photos circulating online and on social media from the scene showed severe damage to the front of the aircraft, with cables and debris hanging from a mangled cockpit. Nearby, a damaged emergency vehicle was on its side.

Stairways used to evacuate passengers from the aircraft were pushed up to the emergency exits on the jet, a Mitsubishi CRJ-900. The impact left the jet with its nose crumpled and tilted upward.

The Associated Press reported that in the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it. The controller was heard frantically diverting incoming aircraft from landing afterward.

The airport was to remain closed until at least 2 p.m. Monday to facilitate the investigation, which the NTSB was leading. LaGuardia was the 19th busiest airport in 2024 out of more than 500 U.S. airports, with over 16.7 million passengers boarding there, according to a 2025 FAA database.