Minute-by-minute: How the LaGuardia crash that killed two pilots unfolded
The fatal collision at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night unfolded over a matter of minutes.
An incoming Air Canada Express jet from Montreal had been cleared to land even as firefighters were responding to a separate incident involving a United Airlines aircraft.
Here’s how the crash unfolded:
Sunday, March 22
- 10:12 p.m. — Air Canada Express Flight 8646 departs Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport more than two hours late. The CRJ900 aircraft, operated by Jazz Aviation, is carrying 72 passengers and four crew members. The typical flight time is about 90 minutes.
- 11:18 p.m. — At LaGuardia, United Airlines Flight 2384 rejects a takeoff attempt on Runway 13, its second rejected takeoff of the night.
- 11:21 p.m. — United 2384 calls the tower to report an unusual odour, saying it wants to return to a gate.
- 11:32 p.m. — United 2384 declares an emergency, saying flight attendants are feeling ill and it needs to return to any gate. A Port Authority rescue and firefighting vehicle is dispatched to assist the aircraft.
- 11:35 p.m. — AC8646 is cleared to land on Runway 4.
- 11:37 p.m. — An air traffic controller clears a fire truck to cross Runway 4 at Taxiway Delta, 19 seconds before impact. The taxiway is about 800 metres down the 2.1-kilometre runway.
- 11:37 p.m. — Nine seconds before impact, the air traffic controller frantically tells the fire truck to stop.
- 11:37 p.m. — The Air Canada aircraft lands and collides with the fire truck on the runway.
- 11:38 p.m. — The control tower tells the next aircraft lined up to land, Delta Air Lines Flight 2603, to go around as emergency crews rush to the scene.
- 11:55 p.m. — Radio communications confirm the airport will be closed indefinitely. In one exchange, a controller appears to acknowledge the earlier emergency: “We had to deal with an emergency that had occurred earlier. I messed up.”
Monday, March 23
- 3 a.m. — LaGuardia Airport confirms it remains closed following the crash.
- 3:10 a.m. — The first National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrive on site to begin their inquiry.
- 5 a.m. — Port Authority Chief Executive Kathryn Garcia confirms that both Air Canada pilots have been killed.
- 2 p.m. — LaGuardia reopens Runway 13/31 to takeoffs and landings.
- 6:30 p.m. — The NTSB holds a briefing, confirming the flight recorders had been recovered.
Officials are still working to determine how a rescue vehicle came to be in the path of a landing aircraft at one of the country’s busiest airports.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.