Heart-pounding audio captured the frantic moments before Sunday’s fatal collision involving an Air Canada passenger plane and a firefighting truck at LaGuardia airport – with one air traffic controller admitting after they “messed up.”
Air traffic controllers urged an incoming plane to go around as the crash unfolded on the ground, which killed the jet’s pilot and co-pilot, according to LiveATC audio.
The truck was cleared to cross the airport’s Runway 4 before air traffic controllers urged a Frontier plane bound for Miami and the vehicle to stop.
“Stop, stop, stop, stop,” the controller frantically demanded. “Truck one, stop, stop, stop. Stop Truck 1. Stop.”
Sources said the pilot and co-pilot were killed and pictures showed the CRJ-900 plane tilting in the air.
The plane, which had 72 passengers and four crew members on board, was traveling about 24 mph when it collided with the truck, which was responding to an emergency involving another plane.
Audio from Air Traffic Control when plane collided with fire truck at New York airport:
— BNO News (@BNONews) March 23, 2026
"Stop Truck 1, stop!"
"We were dealing with an emergency earlier and I messed up" pic.twitter.com/7dJcFov4gq
So you mean to tell me, an airplane can go right through the World Trade Center that had steel structure beams of 4 inch plate every 40” using 12 different grades of steel with a yield strength of 100,000 psi but if the same plane were to run into a firetruck on a runway the plane is completely destroyed.
Got it!