A deadly collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday has left two pilots dead and survivors recounting what they believe was a final heroic act in the cockpit that saved lives. The Air Canada Express CRJ-900, operated by Jazz Aviation, was arriving from Montreal with 72 passengers and four crew members when it struck an airport rescue and firefighting (ARFF) truck on the runway just before 11:40 p.m.
Statement from passenger
“It was a regular flight like always,” passenger Jack Cabot told Fox News. As the aircraft touched down, what began as a normal landing later turned into chaos.
Passengers described a sudden and violent sequence of events as the aircraft lost control after landing. “As we were arriving, we came down really hard. We stopped really quickly, 2 seconds later, we had an absolute slam,” Cabot said.
“Everybody was flying everywhere. The plane veering off left and right. It was chaos. It didn’t feel like there was anybody controlling it,” he added. The collision occurred at around 24 miles per hour (39 km/h), leaving the front of the aircraft heavily damaged and the fire truck overturned. A total of 41 people were injured, including passengers, crew, and two officers in the fire truck.
A final attempt that may have saved lives
Amid the chaos, passengers believe the pilots made a last-second decision that prevented an even greater tragedy. “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,” passenger Brady Sego wrote on Reddit as reported by The New York Post.
“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,” he added. Both pilots were killed in the crash, but their actions in those final moments are now being seen by survivors as a possible reason many on board made it out alive. The crash forced the closure of LaGuardia Airport for much of Monday and has raised serious questions about runway safety and communication failures.