Tense audio recordings have revealed the chaotic moments leading up to Sunday’s deadly collision between an Air Canada passenger plane and a firefighting truck at LaGuardia Airport — with one air traffic controller later admitting they had “messed up.”
According to LiveATC audio, controllers instructed an incoming aircraft to abort its landing as the incident unfolded on the ground, resulting in the deaths of the jet’s pilot and co-pilot.
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The truck had initially been cleared to cross Runway 4, before controllers urgently told both a Frontier Airlines plane bound for Miami and the vehicle to stop.
ATC audio captures moment Air Canada Express flight AC8646 collided with the truck. pic.twitter.com/WsoAUT4P4j
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) March 23, 2026
“Stop, stop, stop, stop,” the controller frantically demanded. “Truck 1, stop, stop, stop. Stop, Truck 1. Stop.”
The controller ordered Delta Flight 2603, en route from Detroit, to go around before turning back to the Air Canada plane — a Jazz Aviation operated flight that touched down from Montreal.
“Jazz 646, I see you collided with the vehicle. Just hold position. I know you can’t move. Vehicles are responding to you now,” the air traffic controller said.
Air traffic controllers told the Frontier crew that the runway would be closed, asking if they would like to return to the ramp.
“Yeah, I tried to reach out to ‘em … And we were dealing with an emergency, and I messed up,” the controller replied.
“No, you did the best you could,” Frontier crews said, trying to reassure the air traffic controller.
Sources told The Post that the pilot and co-pilot were killed and pictures showed the CRJ-900 plane tilting up 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.
Pilots on that other flight had reported an odor in the cabin that caused flight attendants to feel ill.
Officials told ABC News that 11 passengers on the Air Canada plane and two first responders were hospitalized.
Moments before the smash, United 2384 pilots aborted a takeoff due to an anti-ice warning light on the dash, according to CBS News.
LaGuardia Airport has been closed until 2 p.m., and National Transportation Safety Board officials are set to arrive on site on Monday.
