Airspacenews.com

A fatal runway collision involving an Air Canada Express regional jet and an airport fire vehicle has raised serious concerns about runway safety and air traffic coordination at LaGuardia Airport. The incident occurred late Sunday night when a Bombardier CRJ-900LR, operating as Flight AC8646 from Montreal, struck an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) truck during its landing roll on Runway 4. Tragically, both pilots lost their lives, while dozens of passengers and ground personnel sustained injuries. Sequence of Events Preliminary information indicates that the fire truck had been authorized to cross the runway to respond to another aircraft emergency involving a separate flight reporting an unusual odor. However, as the CRJ-900 approached on short final, the air traffic controller urgently instructed the vehicle to stop multiple times. Despite these last-second warnings, the aircraft—traveling at high speed estimated between 93 and 114 knots—collided with the vehicle at Taxiway D...