An Air Canada jet collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in Queens on Sunday night, killing two people and injuring dozens. The fire truck was responding to an unrelated incident when the crash happened.
Audio from air traffic control, flight data and imagery of the aftermath provide clues as to how the collision unfolded.
Before the crash
After multiple attempts at takeoff and reporting an issue with an odor, a United Airlines plane on the east side of the airport requested assistance. A Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting truck responded and began traveling across the airport toward the United plane.
At the same time, around 11:36 p.m. an Air Canada Express Flight 8646 approached Runway 4 at about 150 miles per hour, according to flight data.
Fire truck cleared to cross runway
About 30 seconds before the collision, which was around 11:37 p.m., the fire truck requested permission from air traffic control to cross Runway 4 at crossing “D.” An air traffic controller promptly granted access, responding “Truck 1 and company, cross 4 at delta.”
Ten seconds after granting permission and about 10 seconds before the collision, the same controller is heard saying, “Stop, stop, stop, stop, Truck 1, stop, stop, stop.”
Flight data shows that the Air Canada plane touched down on the runway about 15 seconds before the collision with the fire truck.
About 10 seconds before the crash, the controller said, “Stop, Truck 1, stop!”
In the six seconds between when the controller told Truck 1 to stop the first time and the second time, the United flight covered approximately 1,000 feet, traveling about 200 feet per second, or 130 miles per hour, according to analysis of the flight data.
Moment of crash
Two seconds before collision
One second before collision
Surveillance footage reviewed by The New York Times shows the Air Canada flight traveling down the runway and approaching the intersection where the fire truck had requested permission to cross. As the fire truck made a left turn onto Runway 4, the plane collided into the back half of the truck around 11:37 p.m.
Before the crash, one passenger, Rebecca Liquori, 35, said that there was turbulence as the flight prepared to land and that a flight attendant gave a warning about what to do in case of a possible emergency landing.
Using the length of the plane as a reference scale, The Times estimated the speed of the plane in the video footage to be about 110 miles per hour right before impact.
After the crash, the plane traveled about an additional 600 feet down the runway before coming to a stop off to the side of the runway. The fire truck was knocked onto its side and also slid down the runway before coming to a halt on a grassy median.
The diagram below shows what a Bombardier CRJ-900 jet looks like compared with a typical airport fire truck.
Aftermath
Images and video of the aftermath show that a large portion of the front of the airplane, including most of its cockpit, was torn off or crushed by the impact. Both the pilots died in the collision. A flight attendant, Solange Tremblay, was ejected from the plane while still strapped into her seat, sustaining a fractured leg.
