‘I messed up’: 2 pilots dead, 41 injured after Air Canada jet hits fire truck at LaGuardia, audio captured air traffic controller taking blame

Jazz Airlines Flight 646, an Air Canada Express-operated Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-900, collided with a firetruck while taxiing to Gate B48. The incident occurred on a taxiway as the plane was arriving from Montreal, triggering an immediate emergency response and forcing the closure of the busy New York City airport.

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In the moments ahead of the collision, audio of the air traffic controllers was captured.

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“Stop, stop, stop, stop,” the controller yelled repeatedly to the truck. “Truck 1, stop, stop, stop. Stop, Truck 1. Stop.” Beeping noises on the audio could be heard as air traffic controller was trying to stop the truck as the collision took place.

“Jazz 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can’t move. Vehicles are responding to you now,” the air traffic controller said.

“We got stuff in progress for that, man, that wasn’t good to watch,” a Frontier pilot said on the audio recording.

The air traffic controller later said, "We were dealing with an emergency earlier and I messed up."

“No, you did the best you could,” the pilot responded, trying to reassure the air traffic controller on the situation. The plane had 72 passengers on board when it collided with the truck and was going 24 miles an hour.

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LaGuardia Airport said in a statement following the crash: "At approximately 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada was involved in an incident on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in which the aircraft struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident."

"Emergency response protocols were immediately activated. The Port Authority Police Department is on scene along with the agency’s Chairman and Executive Director. The airport is currently closed to facilitate the response and allow for a thorough investigation," the airport added.

Two people were killed in the crash, with 41 others sustaining injuries. Emergency crews rushed to the scene on the tarmac. 11 passengers on the Air Canada flight were hospitalized as well as two first responders.

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Video footage circulating online appears to show the aircraft’s front end significantly damaged, with visible impact to the cockpit area. In some clips, the nose of the plane can be seen lifted off the ground.

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Jazz Aviation said in a statement to Fox News that the preliminary passenger list indicates the aircraft was carrying 72 passengers and 4 crew members. Pilots on the other flight reported that there was an odor in the cabin which later caused the flight attendents feel ill.

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Operations at LaGuardia were halted as rescuers helped the victims and investigators begin examining the circumstances surrounding the crash. Just before the crash, the United 2384 flight aborted is flght after there was an anti-ice warning that popped up.

The FAA issued a statement on the crash, saying, "Air Canada Express Flight 8646 struck an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle after landing on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in New York. The accident occurred around 11:40 p.m. local time on Sunday, March 22. The CRJ-900 was arriving from Montreal. The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB is in charge of the investigation and will provide all updates."

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