“STOP! STOP! STOP!” — BUT IT WAS ALREA

A passenger jet was seconds from landing at LaGuardia when something shocking happened on the runway

Reports say an airport emergency truck suddenly crossed the landing path of the incoming plane.

Witnesses claim the control tower began shouting urgent warnings… but the aircraft was already descending.

Moments later, the jet slammed into the vehicle — leaving the cockpit destroyed and two pilots dead.

How did a truck end up on the runway at the exact moment a plane was landing?

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Deadly LaGuardia Airport crash: Runway safety system ‘did not alert,’ NTSB says

A runway safety system that allows air traffic controllers to track surface movement of planes and vehicles “did not alert” when an Air Canada jet collided with a Port Authority airport vehicle at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Sunday night’s on-the-ground crash killed both pilots, left dozens injured and prompted LaGuardia to shut down for more than 12 hours.

The pilots who died were identified as Captain Antoine Forest and First Officer Mackenzie Gunther. The cause of death was ruled as blunt force injuries, according to the medical examiner.

The collision happened shortly after the Air Canada flight, which was carrying four crew members and 72 passengers, touched down from Montreal around 11:45 p.m., according to Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia.

The plane, which was operated by Jazz Aviation, struck a rescue-and-firefighting vehicle responding to another aircraft, officials said, with the NTSB noting that the fire truck didn’t have a transponder.

Seth Wenig/AP – PHOTO: Officials investigate the site, March 23, 2026, where an Air Canada jet came to rest after colliding with a Port Authority firetruck at LaGuardia Airport in New York City.

LaGuardia Airport crash: Plane was traveling 93-105 mph at time of ground collision

Preliminary data shows the plane was traveling between 93 and 105 mph when it impacted the fire truck, FlightRadar24 told ABC News.

At least 41 people were taken to hospitals, officials said. One flight attendant, Solange Tremblay, was thrown from the plane and suffered fractures to her leg, her daughter told Canadian news station TVA Nouvelles, calling her survival a “miracle.”

As the NTSB investigates the crash, NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said there were two people in the air traffic control tower cab at the time of collision: the local controller and the controller in charge.

Two controllers is “the standard operating procedure for LaGuardia for the midnight shift,” Homendy at a news conference on Tuesday.

Shannon Stapleton/Reuters – PHOTO: Personnel of the National Transportation Safety Board inspect the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet that collided with a ground vehicle at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, March 23, 2026.
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She said the NTSB has been concerned about fatigue from the midnight shift in past investigations, but stressed that there is no evidence of fatigue so far in this case.

LaGuardia has a runway safety system allowing air traffic controllers to track surface movement of planes and vehicles, but that system “did not alert,” Homendy said.

The analysis found that the system “did not generate an alert due to the close proximity of vehicles merging and unmerging near the runway, resulting in the inability to create a track of high confidence,” Homendy said.

Sarah Yenesel/EPA/Shutterstock – PHOTO: National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair Jennifer Homendy speaks during a press conference at LaGuardia International Airport in Queens, New York, March 24, 2026.

The reason it did not alert is because the fire truck was not equipped with a transponder, so the system was unable to track it, the NTSB said. The truck is not required to have a transponder, but Homendy noted that trucks do at some other airports.

There is no indication yet if the pilots saw the fire truck on the runway, Homendy said, noting that the NTSB is still analyzing the cockpit voice recorder.

Asked if the truck turned or hit the brakes, Homendy said, “We have to do some further investigation on that, including interviews of both firefighters that were on board.”

NTSB – PHOTO: NTSB investigators walk the scene of the March 22 collision between an Air Canada Express plane and a firefighting vehicle on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, March 23, 2026.
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The NTSB also outlined the timeline of the final three minutes of the cockpit voice recorder, noting when the truck requested to cross the runway, when the tower cleared the truck to cross, and both times the tower instructed the truck to stop.

“Because I was seated in the emergency aisle, somebody in the plane had shouted, ‘Emergency exits open,'” Joe said. “So at that time, I pulled the lever down, attached the door, put it to the side of the plane, and a few of us had exited through the emergency exit onto the wing of the plane. And FDNY and Port Authority Police directed us to slide down the wing. … It was very low to the ground and easy to get off.”

Joe, who was on the flight with his fiancé, said Monday evening that they were “pretty shaken up, still kind of in shock.”

“And just heartbroken for, obviously, the pilots, and all those that are injured,” Joe said.

He said he believes the pilots “saved many lives on that flight — and my heart’s just broken for them.”

Antoine Forest has been identified by his family as one of the two pilots killed.

LaGuardia shut down after the crash and slowly resumed flights at 2 p.m. Monday. The runway where the collision occurred will remain closed until 7 a.m. Friday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.