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Two of the Air Canada pilots were killed and over 40 people injured in a disastrous runway crash at the LaGuardia Airport in New York late on Sunday night. This had just landed in Montreal by the Air Canada Express flight AC8646, operated by Jazz Aviation in a CRM-900 regional jet, and had 72 passengers on board and four crew members when it hit a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) vehicle responding to a different incident.

Shearing off the nose of the plane as well as the cockpit, the impact, which happened at approximately 11:40 p.m. on Runway 4, killed the pilot and co-pilot immediately. More than thirty-five passengers and two firefighters were hospitalized, but a significant number of them have been discharged. According to the passengers, the incident was harrowing, with the aircraft traveling at high speed on collision.

Flights were disrupted, and LaGuardia Airport was closed temporarily due to a massive air travel flight snarl-up. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has initiated a comprehensive investigation, and both black boxes have been found. It was reported that air traffic control audio recorded the emergency warnings to the fire truck just before the crash took place. This air crash has brought new questions regarding ground safety measures at large airports in the U.S.