A fatal runway collision at LaGuardia Airport on March 22 caused New York City’s aviation system to fall into turmoil, shutting down one of its busiest hubs and causing a flood of delays across the region.
The incident occurred at 11:40 p.m. when an Air Canada flight, arriving from Montreal, collided with a Port Authority fire truck upon landing. Both the pilot and co-pilot were killed on impact, while 72 passengers and first responders were injured and hospitalized.
Preliminary evidence points to a communication error by air traffic control. According to The New York Times, the air traffic controller who responded to the crash could be heard over an audio recording from the control tower at LaGuardia dealing with a separate emergency moments before.
The National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) announced that they have begun an investigation. The Federal Aviation Administration said that part of the investigation will include determining how many controllers were in the tower on Sunday night.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani took to social media to address the crash, writing on X, “I have been briefed on the tragic collision that took place at LaGuardia Airport late last night. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident, and the City is in close contact with federal, state, and local partners. I am grateful to our first responders, whose swift actions saved lives.”
The day after the crash, LaGuardia was shut down for several hours on Monday, with authorities halting all flights in and out of the airport. More than 500 flights were cancelled, leaving thousands of people stranded.
The Port Authorities of New York and New Jersey, who operate LaGuardia Airport, said that they would be conducting their internal review alongside federal investigations. Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authorities, said the fire truck involved in the collision was responding to a different incident regarding another aircraft at the time, though exact details have not yet been released.
Air Canada said in a statement that it is fully cooperating with investigators and is working towards supporting the victims of the crash and their families. Two days after the crash, the airline released information about the crew members aboard, specifically the two pilots who lost their lives: Captain Antoine Forest and First Officer Mackenzie Gunther.
Numerous local Canadian media outlets were first to break the news of the two pilots’ deaths. Forest, a 30-year-old from Quebec, and Gunther, a 2023 graduate of Seneca Polytechnic, were identified on Tuesday.
The day after the crash, LaGuardia was shut down for several hours on Monday, with authorities halting all flights in and out of the airport. More than 500 flights were cancelled, leaving thousands of people stranded.
The incident comes as the United States experiences shortages of air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers. Due to a partial government shutdown that began last month, halting TSA workers’ pay, there have been delays, long lines and heightened security concerns across the country.
The disruptions have quickly spread beyond LaGuardia, affecting the two other major airports in the region, John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport. JFK has experienced significant delays due to increased air congestion from diverted flights. Newark experienced a brief ground stop on March 23 due to a reported burning smell in the air traffic control tower, leading to a temporary evacuation of the building.
Kirsten Mueller, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’26, said that she experienced a series of delays and cancellations with her flights while trying to come back to school after spring break.
“I was supposed to fly out of Austin, Texas, on March 16, right after spring break, but my flight was canceled so I had to stay an extra day,” Mueller said. “There were no other options that weren’t under $1000 or that weren’t over $1000 or that didn’t have so many layovers that it would end up getting me in at the end of the week.”
Mueller also shared her unease about flying during the upcoming Easter break after the recent events.
“I’m flying out of Newark this time, but still nervous, because there’s no signs of the TSA situation getting any better. I can only hope that the government starts paying TSA and also air traffic control is accounted for too,” Mueller said.
CNN reported that 13 U.S. airports will see ICE agents in the coming weeks, including Pittsburgh International Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico.
As of March 23, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been deployed to airports around the country to help TSA workers amid the staffing shortages. Due to the government shutdown, it has now been five weeks since TSA workers have been paid. Fifty thousand employees have gone without pay and over 400 have quit.
CNN reported that 13 U.S. airports will see ICE agents in the coming weeks, including Pittsburgh International Airport, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico.
Border Czar Tom Homan spoke to CNN on March 22, defending the decision to deploy ICE to national airports.
“ICE agents receive a high level of training and ICE agents are assigned at many airports across the country already,” Homan said. “They do a lot of investigation — criminal investigation — on smuggling at airports. Certainly, a highly trained ICE law enforcement officer can cover an exit and make sure people don’t go through those exits, entering the airport through the exits.”
Homan also said that ICE’s presence will help mitigate the effects of understaffing.
Former TSA Administrator John Pistole offered a different assessment when speaking to NBC News on March 23, stating that ICE personnel are not trained to conduct screening operations and check-in.
“They’re not of any help in terms of the actual checkpoint operations,” Pistole said. “I see it more as, again, a visible deterrent, but doesn’t speed things up in terms of trying to get these lines down. That’s a political issue.”
At the time of publication of this article, NTSB’s investigations are still ongoing.
