Newly released close-up images show the extent of damage to an Air Canada aircraft involved in a fatal collision at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night, as federal investigators continue examining the circumstances surrounding the crash, as reported by The New York Post.
The images, obtained after the aircraft was moved to a hangar on Wednesday, reveal that the nose and cockpit of Air Canada Express Flight 8646 were completely torn off in the impact.
The flight had departed from Montreal carrying 72 passengers and four crew members when it collided with a Port Authority fire truck on Runway 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m. in Queens.
Air Canada flight and the fire truck involved. pic.twitter.com/7Je6wGUQAB
— Brattani (@Bratt_world) March 23, 2026
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Both pilots, identified as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther, were killed in the crash.
Authorities said roughly 40 people were injured, including a flight attendant who survived after being thrown approximately 300 feet during the impact.
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All of the injured are expected to recover. Two Port Authority officers inside the fire truck also survived without life-threatening injuries.
The images show the front section of the CRJ-900 aircraft heavily damaged, with exposed wiring, a destroyed cockpit, and visible structural damage extending along the fuselage.
The front landing gear and wheels are also missing in the photographs.
Shocking new photos from LaGuardia show the Air Canada Express CRJ-900 (Jazz flight AC8646 from Montreal) with its entire nose and cockpit basically gone after it hit a fire truck right on the runway during landing on March 22.
72 passengers and 4 crew were on board. The two… pic.twitter.com/qB3sx5wYbk
— Fahad Naim (@Fahadnaimb) March 26, 2026
The aircraft remained on the runway into Tuesday as investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board examined the scene.
Closeup of Air Canada flight that struck an emergency truck on the runway.
This should’ve been avoided.
Looks intentional https://t.co/tkEbrx28db pic.twitter.com/hkSfQ9fd27
— IamLegend (@DarkSideAdvcate) March 23, 2026
Audio recordings from air traffic control communications captured moments before the collision have also been reviewed as part of the investigation.
“Stop, stop, stop, stop!” a controller said over the radio. “Truck 1, stop, stop, stop! Stop, Truck 1! Stop!”
In the same recording, a controller later said, “I messed up.”
Watch how Air Canada Collided With a Fire Truck at LaGuardia
Sunday night, March 22, 2026. LaGuardia Airport is already stretched thin. A United Airlines flight has aborted its takeoff after an anti-ice warning light comes on, flight attendants in the back are feeling ill from… pic.twitter.com/eQyRL9ebmt
— Dami’ Adenuga (@DAMIADENUGA) March 24, 2026
According to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, two personnel were working in the control tower at the time of the crash, each handling multiple responsibilities, which she described as standard procedure during the midnight shift at LaGuardia.
Homendy said one controller cleared the emergency vehicle to cross the runway while the Air Canada aircraft was approaching for landing.
“We know that that controller was still on duty for several minutes afterwards. Normally, they would be relieved,” Homendy said during a Tuesday press conference.
She later stated that it is “too early” to assign blame to any single individual and said investigators are examining “multiple failures” that may have contributed to the crash.
The investigation remains ongoing as officials analyze the sequence of events, air traffic control procedures, and other contributing factors related to the incident.
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