A disturbing video has captured the exact moment an Air Canada Express plane crashed into a fire truck on a runway at LaGuardia Airport in Queens on Sunday night, killing both pilots on board. The footage, recorded from inside the airport, shows just how suddenly the accident happened.

Video emerges of Air Canada plane crashing into a fire truck at LaGuardia

In the video that surfaced online, one can see the fire truck moving across the runway to reach another part of the airport. It had been sent to help with a different plane that had reported an unusual smell inside the cabin. But as it crossed, the Air Canada aircraft came in and struck it.

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The video shows the plane racing down the runway and slamming into the truck. The impact is severe, the truck is hit from the side and completely destroyed. Even after the collision, the plane keeps moving forward along the runway, leaving smoke rising and debris scattered across the ground.

While the crash killed both pilots, passengers and other crew members on board the plane survived. The two workers inside the fire truck also made it out alive.

One of the pilots has been identified as Antoine Forest, a 30-year-old from Coteau-du-Lac near Montreal who had joined Jazz Aviation in 2022. The second pilot was MacKenzie Gunther, according to Radio-Canada sources.

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Final warning before impact

In the moments leading up to the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard urgently trying to stop the truck from moving onto the runway. “Stop, stop, stop, stop!” the controller pleaded. “Truck 1, stop, stop, stop! Stop, Truck 1! Stop!” But the warning came too late.

The fire truck had been given permission to cross the runway. It was leading a line of emergency vehicles heading toward the other aircraft that needed help. At the same time, the Air Canada plane had also been cleared to land on that very runway.

As the other emergency vehicles slowed down and stopped before entering the runway, the fire truck kept going. That is when the plane crashed into it, crushing the front of the aircraft.

The crash also forced operations at LaGuardia Airport to stop, with disruptions continuing into Monday afternoon.

Flight attendant thrown from plane survives 

A flight attendant on the Air Canada Jazz flight that crashed at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night has survived in nothing short of a miracle. Solange Tremblay was thrown more than 100 metres away from the aircraft when it collided with a fire truck, and somehow, she was still alive.

According to her daughter, Sarah Lépine, Tremblay was still strapped into her seat when she was found.

“It’s a complete miracle. At the moment of impact, her seat was ejected more than 100 metres from the plane. They found her and she was still strapped into her seat,” Lépine told TVA News

“She had a guardian angel watching over her. It could have been much worse.” Tremblay suffered several broken bones in the crash. Her daughter said she was taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgery for a broken leg. She had been working as a flight attendant for 26 years, according to her social media profile.