Update: The air traffic controller initially blamed himself, but it just sounds more like a terrible accident. Almost no time passed from when the controller told the truck to go to when he told the truck to stop. The media will probably blame the controller because that is what they do best: the blame game.
This is the sound clips from both Tower and Ground frequency when the truck collided with the Air Canada aircraft at Laguardia. Truck1 gets permission to cross runway , then they try to stop him but it is too late. pic.twitter.com/FTXt6YL4bS
— AtlasObserver (@AtlasObserver) March 23, 2026
The aircraft hit the truck at around 24 miles per hour. Audio released from the air traffic control tower showed one controller blaming himself in the situation. “Stop, stop, stop, stop,” the controller yelled repeatedly to the truck moments before the crash. “Truck 1, stop, stop, stop. Stop, Truck 1. Stop.”
The controller said, “I messed up.” A pilot in the Frontier Airlines plane, who had interrupted the communications at that crucial fraction of a second, told the controller he did the best he could under the circumstances.
It was an accident.
The flight attendant who was ejected was found still in the jump seat. Her condition is unknown, but 41 people were injured, some seriously.
Original Story
New York’s LaGuardia Airport was closed Monday after a fatal runway collision, while a ground stop was issued at Newark Liberty International after a control tower was evacuated. The incidents added to travel chaos caused by the Democrat shutdown.
New York’s LaGuardia Airport was closed Monday after a fatal runway collision, while a ground stop was issued at Newark Liberty International after a control tower was evacuated. The incidents added to travel woes over the weekend as passengers faced hours-long wait times at airports across the country.
LaGuardia Airport will be closed until at least 2 p.m. on Monday after a collision between an Air Canada Express flight operated by Jazz Aviation and a Port Authority firefighting vehicle on the runway.
The two pilots have died, Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said, while 41 people were taken to the hospital and 32 have since been released. A stewardess was ejected from the plane and is in critical condition.
The aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle was responding to a separate incident when it was struck, according to a post on the airport’s X account.
In Newark, the air traffic controller’s tower was evacuated because of a burning smell coming from an elevator, the FAA said in a statement reported by the New York Post.
DisasterVision: “I Messed Up.” Airplane Crash ATC Controller Chaos in New York.
📡 What We Know: Deadly accident at LaGuardia Airport when an Air Canada jet collided with a Port Authority vehicle crossing runway.
Authorities have confirmed the pilot and co-pilot died in crash. pic.twitter.com/L5TzvI4g7k— John Cremeans (@JohnCremeansX) March 23, 2026