Air Canada Passenger Describes Chilling Moments During LaGuardia Crash

One passenger recounted terrifying moments after an Air Canada plane crash at LaGuardia Airport, describing a sudden jolt and a last-second action during landing.

Inside an Air Canada Express flight, a firsthand account sheds light on a tense landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City on March 23, 2026, that quickly spiraled out of control as the plane collided with a fire truck.

According to the passenger, what followed unfolded in a matter of seconds. At first, many on board didn't realize just how serious the situation had become.

What Happened After the Collision

As the situation unfolded on the ground, air traffic control audio captured the immediate aftermath of the incident.

When the audio resumed, the tone had completely changed. The calm rhythm of instructions was gone, replaced by the stunned language of people reacting to something they had just seen unfold.

At 10:16, one voice says, "We're holding here."

A second later comes the explanation:

"Alright, there's an incident on the field."

The reply says it all:

"Yeah, we saw it, man."

From there, operations appeared to grind to a halt. By 11:42, the recording said that the airport had shut down due to an active incident on the field. The dispatcher told the crew to wait and check back in ten minutes.

The shutdown continued well beyond the immediate aftermath. At 18:08, another message stated, "We're not moving aircraft right now, all right. When I have more for you, I will reach out. I don't know, just call the tower, and we'll figure it out. This could have been a big incident."

But the most devastating exchange came near the end of the recording, when the emotional weight of what happened seemed to land in full.

At 25:26, one person mentioned that they were already working on the situation and commented on how difficult it was to watch.

Five seconds later, at 25:31, another voice said, "Yeah, I know I was here. I tried to reach out to my stuff, and we were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up."

The response, just seconds later, was the line that lingered: "No man, you did the best you could."

Passenger Recounts Terrifying Moments

In a post shared on Reddit, a user identified as bradysego12, who said they were on board, described how the situation escalated shortly after touchdown at LaGuardia Airport.

"We had just touched down and maybe about 30 seconds later we all felt a jolt forward, then a loud bang, and what felt like sliding sideways down the runway," the passenger wrote.

An accompanying image shows the aircraft's nose angled downward, with visible damage near the front, as emergency lights reflect across the wet tarmac — an eerie snapshot of the aftermath.

As confusion spread inside the cabin, the passenger recalled hearing that a last-second maneuver may have prevented an even worse outcome. The user shared:

"But someone did say the pilot tried to reverse thrust at the last second. Honestly, they likely saved our lives. I wish I could tell their families how thankful I am. They are heroes ❤️."

Despite the severity of the incident, the passenger said they were physically unharmed but emotionally shaken, adding they felt "horribly sick" over those who died.

The Scene Left Behind

A reported footage from the scene showed an emergency fire truck crushed against the nose of the plane.

More details from BBC live said the aircraft, carrying 72 passengers and four crew members, had arrived from Montreal on Sunday evening, March 22, and was traveling at about 24 mph.

A separate BBC update laid out the broader sequence of events. According to that timeline, the Air Canada flight departed Montreal at 10:12 p.m. ET, more than two hours behind schedule.

Minutes before 11:40 p.m., a Port Authority rescue and firefighting vehicle was dispatched to assist with a separate issue involving a plane at LaGuardia that had requested support. At about that same time, the aircraft collided with the truck on the ground while landing.

Emergency crews responded right away after the impact. By 3:09 a.m., LaGuardia said the airport was closed because of the incident, and around 3:30 a.m., the first portion of the National Transportation Safety Board team arrived.

At 4:48 a.m., Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia said two Air Canada pilots had died, and nine people remained in the hospital. Two Port Authority police officers were also badly injured.

Additionally, she said the airport would stay closed until at least 2:00 p.m. local time so investigators could continue processing the scene. Federal and local investigations are now underway.

Further updates said 41 passengers and crew members were taken to hospitals, along with two officers who had been inside the ground vehicle, while 32 of those hospitalized have since been released.

Warnings Raised Before the Crash

Pilots have raised concerns in recent years about potential hazards at LaGuardia Airport, including miscommunication and air traffic control challenges, according to a CNN review of government safety reports.

Some warnings were urgent. In one report submitted last summer to NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System, a pilot described a close call involving unclear guidance from controllers and urged action, writing, "Please do something."

Other reports pointed to increasing pressure on operations at the airport. One pilot noted that the pace of activity was intensifying, adding that controllers appeared to be operating at their limits, particularly during severe weather.

These concerns have drawn renewed attention following the collision between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck during landing.

A Routine Problem Turned Urgent

According to an NBC New York report, the trouble began when Flight 2384 declared an emergency after flight attendants in the back of the aircraft reportedly became sick because of an odd smell.

The urgency came through almost immediately in the transcript of the recording. At 1:35, a voice said, "2384 is declaring an emergency. Flight Attendants in the back are feeling ill because of the odor. We will need to go into any available gates at this time."

That request did not appear to have an easy solution. Just seconds later, the discussion turned to finding space for the aircraft, with one line making clear the situation was already getting complicated.

At 1:55, someone is heard asking, "Do you guys have any gate for United? Because now it's declaring an emergency, they want to get out."

Then at 3:04, the pressure seemed to build even more:

"Hey, I'll say it again, LaGuardia. Now that United says he needs a gate, but so now he's declaring an emergency, but the ramp doesn't have a gate for him."

Tension Kept Building on the Ground

As responders worked to manage the situation, the transcript showed preparations being made in case passengers needed to get off the plane without a gate.

At 3:19, one person said, "We can get a sand truck if you need them to get off the plane." Just moments later came the response: "Okay, yeah, yeah, do that just in case they want to come off."

Even then, the crew seemed to prefer waiting rather than rushing into an evacuation. The ground crew later messaged the aircraft at 3:35 to explain that the ramp lacked an available gate. The dispatcher added that they were contacting the Port Authority to find an alternative solution.

That was followed by another update at 3:43:

"And the fire trucks are over there. They're gonna bring a stair up, just in case you guys do want to evacuate. Let me know if you do."

The flight crew responded almost instantly, highlighting the urgent need for a resolution. At 3:48, they confirmed their preference to wait for an available gate but warned that their time was running out due to a persistent smell at the rear of the cabin.

The Final Moments Before Impact

As the minutes passed, the audio became even more striking because it captured how normal communication suddenly gave way to confusion.

At 6:25, the aircraft asked again, "2384, Do you have a gate available at this time? Otherwise, we will be probably requesting gears here."

At 6:31, the dispatcher asked the crew for a brief moment to coordinate further. The situation then changed as the teams began coordinating the arrival.

At 6:45, someone asked whether the emergency vehicles were using the ground or tower radio channel. Less than 30 seconds later, the tower cleared flight 2384 to enter lane eight for gate 41.

By 7:03, the crew received orders to head to the ramp and briefly confirmed they were moving in.

And then the transcript reached the moment that now stood out the most.

At 7:10, "Truck 1" was heard. Seven seconds later came a blunt warning: "Truck 1, stop." The next moments couldn't be heard clearly.

That abrupt sequence was what made the audio so haunting. It captured the final attempt to halt the truck before the recording dropped into confusion.

A Chaotic Aftermath

Following the collision, authorities also warned travelers to brace for major disruption around the airport. The New York City Fire Department told the public to expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays, and a heavy emergency presence near LaGuardia.

The chaos on the ground left stranded travelers trying to make sense of what had happened. In another BBC report, 26-year-old Katie Rojas said her flight to Chicago was already on the runway and prepared to depart when all planes were grounded.

"It tried taking off twice and both times literally stopped in its tracks," she said, explaining that after two and a half hours on board, passengers were told they had to evacuate. She added, "They said there was a smell coming from the plane. I don't know if that was just something they were saying."

After returning to the terminal, Rojas said she saw emergency vehicles everywhere and only later learned about the crash online. She was first rebooked for a 7:00 a.m. flight that was also canceled, then placed on a 3:20 p.m. departure, but said security was closed and she had no way to check her bags.

By that point, she had been waiting at the airport for 12 hours, hoping to finally get home. Reflecting on the crash, she said, "It's scary. You never know if it could have been one of us."

That context made the audio even harder to hear. A fast-moving but controlled emergency response ended up with a runway shut down, lives lost, people injured and scared, an airport plunged into chaos, and a recording that now serves as a minute-by-minute account of how everything went wrong.

Pattern of Close Calls and near Misses

The crash followed a series of recent incidents and near misses in the region, according to CNN.

In October 2025, two Delta regional jets collided on a LaGuardia taxiway, sending one person to the hospital. More recently, a close call in Newark involved two aircraft attempting to land on intersecting runways.

Over the past two years, multiple reports have described narrowly avoided collisions at LaGuardia.

Many of these accounts cite confusion or miscommunication involving air traffic control and were submitted through a voluntary reporting system used by aviation personnel.

One report from December 2024 described how a plane came dangerously close to another aircraft on the ground after receiving incorrect instructions.

Months earlier, a copilot reported a similar situation in which a plane was cleared to cross a runway while another aircraft was landing. "Ground Control issued a stop command just in time," one report stated.

Although the reports are not always independently verified, they are reviewed by safety analysts who flag potential risks to federal regulators. Some also highlight broader challenges, including staffing shortages and congestion in busy airspace.