Sunday, March 22, 11:40 PM. Air Canada Express flight AC8646, a CRJ-900 aircraft carrying 72 passengers and four crew members, departed from Montreal to New York’s LaGuardia Airport. As one of the busiest airports in the world, LaGuardia requires highly precise coordination from air traffic controllers to manage both takeoffs and landings.

On March 22, as the Air Canada Express flight entered its final approach for landing, an unexpected situation unfolded at LaGuardia Airport. A small amount of smoke began rising from another aircraft on the ground. Immediately, a fire engine truck at the airport was dispatched toward the smoking aircraft. To reach it, the truck had to cross the runway—the same runway on which the Air Canada flight was about to land.

Due to the emergency, the fire engine entered the runway. At that exact moment, the Air Canada aircraft touched down. Aircraft landing from the air travel at high speed and require a certain distance along the runway to decelerate. Only after the pilot applies speed brakes and reduces velocity can the aircraft slow down effectively. In other words, it is not possible for a plane to come to an immediate stop right after touchdown.

As the Air Canada Express aircraft touched down, the air traffic controller noticed the fire engine truck on the runway and shouted, “Truck one stop… stop.” However, it was already too late. The aircraft collided with the truck. The front section of the aircraft was completely destroyed. Both pilots died at the scene. Forty-one people were injured; 32 were treated and discharged, while the remaining victims continue to receive treatment in serious condition.

Where Did the Error Occur?

At airports, permission for vehicles like fire engine trucks to enter a runway is jointly managed by ground control and the local tower control within air traffic control. Meanwhile, landing clearance for incoming aircraft is handled by approach control along with local tower control.

As noted earlier, LaGuardia is an extremely busy airport. When a sudden emergency arises, it can disrupt communication systems within the control tower. If the fire engine needed to quickly cross the runway to reach the smoking aircraft, the approach control should not have cleared the Air Canada flight to land. Instead, the aircraft should have been instructed to “hold” in the air, circling until the runway was clear.

On the other hand, if the fire engine was dispatched after the Air Canada flight had already entered final approach, then under no circumstances should ground control have permitted the truck to enter the runway.

Following the accident, the air traffic controller reportedly admitted, “I made a mistake,” pointing toward a breakdown in communication between ground control and approach control.

Ongoing Investigation

A joint American–Canadian investigation team has begun examining the incident. Investigators are looking into whether insufficient staffing in the control tower during nighttime hours or fatigue among personnel may have contributed to the communication failure.