An Air Canada Express regional jet struck a Port Authority fire truck on a runway at LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night, killing both pilots and sending more than 40 people to the hospital.

The crash occurred at approximately 11:47 p.m. on March 22 on Runway 4, when Flight 8646, a CRJ-900 arriving from Montréal, collided with a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident on the ground. The plane reportedly struck the vehicle at about 24 miles per hour after landing.

Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia confirmed the worst at a news briefing:

"Sadly, the two pilots are confirmed deceased and notifications are being made by Air Canada's care team at this time."

More than 40 passengers, crew members, and ARFF officers were transported to area hospitals. Garcia noted that 32 had been released, but added that serious injuries remained. The preliminary passenger list from Jazz Aviation, which operated the flight on behalf of Air Canada, indicated 72 passengers and 4 crew members were aboard, though the airline cautioned that figure is subject to confirmation.

Multiple videos from the scene showed severe damage to the front of the aircraft. The FAA issued a ground stop for all planes at the airport, which is expected to remain closed until 2 p.m. Monday.

A fire truck responding to a separate incident

The detail that demands the most scrutiny in the days ahead is this: the fire truck was already on the runway responding to something else entirely. A Port Authority spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that the aircraft "struck a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident." "Emergency response protocols were immediately activated."

That raises immediate and serious questions:

• What was the separate incident that put an ARFF vehicle on an active runway?
• Was the runway properly cleared, or was Flight 8646 directed onto a runway with an active ground operation?
• Who coordinated the landing sequence, and what did air traffic control communicate to the pilots?

None of these questions have been answered yet. The National Transportation Safety Board announced it is launching a go team to investigate the collision, and the Port Authority Police Department said it is working with federal authorities. Those investigations will matter enormously. Two pilots are dead. The public deserves to know whether a procedural failure put a fire truck in the path of a landing aircraft.

The investigation begins

The NTSB confirmed it is sending investigators to examine the crash, stating it is "launching a go team to investigate the March 22 Jazz Aviation, Air Canada Express Flight 8646, CRJ900, airplane that collided with a fire truck on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in New York."

The office of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy also confirmed details of the crash and crew composition to Fox News Digital. The New York Fire Department and NYPD confirmed they responded to the scene but did not provide additional details.

The Port Authority spokesperson framed the situation carefully:

"This is a developing situation based on preliminary information. The Port Authority Police Department is working closely with our airline partners as well as federal authorities, and will provide additional updates as more details become available."

Jazz Aviation's statement was similarly measured, confirming the flight route and passenger count while noting the preliminary nature of the information.

A system under strain

This crash lands, both literally and figuratively, at a moment of broader turmoil in American aviation infrastructure. TSA employees have been working for more than a month without being paid amid a funding lapse for the Department of Homeland Security. ICE agents are slated to deploy to airports on Monday to assist TSA operations.

None of that necessarily caused this crash. The NTSB investigation will determine whether human error, mechanical failure, or procedural breakdown put a fire truck and a landing jet on the same stretch of asphalt at the same time. But the context matters. When the people responsible for keeping airports safe and functional are stretched thin, when systems are under pressure from multiple directions at once, the margin for error shrinks. And on a runway, the margin for error is already measured in seconds and feet.

Air Canada has established a phone line for families at 1-800-961-7099.

What comes next

LaGuardia is one of the busiest airports in the country, and a closure lasting into Monday afternoon will ripple through flight schedules nationwide. But the operational disruption is secondary to the human cost. Two pilots flew a routine regional flight from Montréal. They landed the plane. And something that should not have been on that runway was on that runway.

The NTSB go team will reconstruct the final minutes of Flight 8646 in granular detail. Until that work is complete, speculation about cause serves no one. What we know is enough to demand answers: a fire truck was on an active runway, a jet was cleared to land, and two people who were doing their jobs didn't survive the collision between those two facts.