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Published 16:45 23 Mar 2026 GMT
Expert reveals 'critical mistake' made before Air Canada crash with fire truck at LaGuardia Airport
An aviation expert has given her opinion on the fatal crash between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia airport.
She believes that the crash was totally avoidable and that a ‘critical mistake’ was made in the moments before tragedy struck.
The incident at LaGuardia Airport killed two pilots
The Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck on the runway at around 11:40pm last night (March 22) at the New York airport.
The crash killed two people - believed to be the captain and first officer of the plane - and injured at least 41 more people.
Among those injured was reportedly a flight attendant who was flung from the plane while still strapped into her seat.
A shocking audio clip has since emerged that details the moments leading up to the crash.
In that clip, the air traffic controller (ATC) can be heard providing clearance to the fire truck ahead of crossing the runway, but then quickly backing out and imploring the vehicle to stop as the plane was arriving.
It seems as if both the plane and the truck had clearance on the runway, and the ATC appeared to admit to that mistake when talking to a pilot of another plane on the recording, admitting: “I messed up.”
Now, an expert has given her opinion and she believes that there was a crucial error made before the fatal accident.
An expert opinion on the Air Canada crash
Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general at the Department of Transportation, told the New York Post that the crash could have been avoided if there hadn’t been a miscommunication, as well as outlining who should have had the right of way in this case.
She said: “Once that aircraft was cleared to land … It owned that runway.”
Addressing the audio clip that has become public, Schiavo said that there was a clear miscommunication between the ATC in the control tower and those on the ground.
She explained: “There are two parts here — there’s the control in the tower, also called local control, and there’s ground control.
‘And those two air traffic control entities are supposed to coordinate with each other,
“So clearly they either did not coordinate, or they did and were just wrong.
“But giving a firetruck clearance to cross the runway after an aircraft has been cleared to run in this final is a clear error.
“There’s just no way around that.”
She added: “Who gave the final clearance for that fire truck across the runway?
“It should have been the tower, but clearly … someone made a very critical mistake in allowing a fire truck clearance to cross the runway when an aircraft had been given a landing clearance.
“That’s my take on it.”
Top officials react to the crash
In the aftermath, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani thanked emergency responders and promised an investigation.
President Donald Trump - during an interview about a different matter - said: "They made a mistake. It's a dangerous business. That's terrible.”
However, he did not elaborate on who he meant by ‘they’.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said: "The collision involving an Air Canada Express aircraft last night in New York that claimed the lives of the pilot and co-pilot, and injured dozens more, is deeply saddening.”
He also confirmed that Canadian investigators would work alongside the US to find out what happened.
Full timeline of events at New York's LaGuardia Airport
- ~10:12 p.m. – Flight departs Montréal for New York.
- Late evening – Fire truck sent onto runway to respond to another aircraft issue.
- 11:37 p.m. – Truck cleared to cross runway.
- ~11:40 p.m. – Plane lands and collides with the truck.
- Immediately after – Two pilots killed; passengers and responders injured.
- Overnight – Emergency crews respond; injured taken to hospital.
- Shortly after – Airport shut down; flights diverted.
- Morning – Investigators arrive; major disruption continues.