News
'I messed up': Air traffic controller at New York airport moments before crash that killed 2 pilots on Air Canada plane
Another pilot could be heard trying to console him.
March 24, 2026, 09:40 AM
An Air Canada Express plane collided with a ground vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport, killing two pilots.
According to audio captured before the fatal collision, an air traffic controller was heard on the radio telling the fire truck to stop and not cross the runway.
He can be later heard saying that "he messed up".
Another pilot can be heard trying to console him.
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
A total of 41 people were taken to hospitals in Queens and 32 were eventually released.
Sources told CBS News that a flight attendant was found alive and strapped into her seat, which was outside of the plane
According to the BBC, the tragedy has raised the issue of understaffing at the airport.
While an expert on commercial aviation safety they talked to said it was tough to reach a conclusion on staffing from audio alone, it raised the possibility that "one controller may have been handling both ground and air traffic", which he said was technically possible at a busy airport, but was "far from ideal".
U.S. president Donald Trump called the crash "terrible" and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney said his thoughts are with the victims of the crash, their families, and everyone impacted.
Image from Reuters
