Frantic air traffic control audio has been released revealing the moment of the crash that left two pilots dead and at least 42 injured after striking a fire truck Sunday at New York’s LaGuardia airport.
“I messed up,” voice from another audio clip released from air traffic control was heard saying.
In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission discussing the request for the emergency vehicle to cross part of the tarmac, then trying to stop it.
“Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” the transmission said. “Frontier 4195, stop there please. “Stop, stop, stop, stop.”
“Truck 1, stop, stop, stop,” a controller was heard saying. “Stop truck one. Stop!”
FEDS INVESTIGATE ALARMING NEAR-MISS BETWEEN ALASKA AIRLINES JET, FEDEX PLANE AT BUSY NEWARK AIRPORT
LISTEN TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUDIO:
Then beeping noises sounded as the controller could be heard announcing vehicles en route and frantically diverting an incoming aircraft from landing.
Other air traffic control audio from another pilot witnessesing the action was also released, communicating with the distressed air traffic controller.
“That wasn’t good to watch,” a Frontier Flight 4195 pilot told the tower later.
“Yeah, I know,” a controller responded, according to audio recordings. “I was here. I tried to reach out. … We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up.”
“Nah man, you did the best you could,” the pilot replied.
The fire truck was responding to a separate incident aboard a United Airlines flight, whose pilot had reported “an issue with odor.”
The pilot and copilot were killed in the collision, which crushed the nose of the aircraft, while 39 passengers and crew members were taken to area hospitals, some with serious injuries. Most have since been released from treatment, authorities said Monday.
“Air Canada Express Flight 8646 struck an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting vehicle after landing on Runway 4 at LaGuardia Airport in New York,” the Federal Aviation Administration wrote in a statement early Monday morning.
“The accident occurred around 11:45 p.m. local time on Sunday, March 22. The CRJ-900 was arriving from Montreal. The FAA and NTSB will investigate. The NTSB is in charge of the investigation and will provide all updates.”
Two Port Authority employees who were traveling in the fire truck also suffered injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.
The pilot and copilot were both based out of Canada, Garcia said during a news conference early Monday.
The Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter (ARFF) Unit is staffed and operated by Port Authority police officers (PAPD). Each Port Authority police officer assigned to ARFF is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified aircraft rescue fire fighter and must certify twice annually, twice the FAA requirement, according to PAPD.
“They have to get clearance from the tower to move on our runways and our taxiways,” Garcia said at an early morning news conference.
The air traffic control audio appears to have granted the truck clearance to cross the runway, before frantically rescinding it.
The airport will remain closed until at least 2 p.m. Monday to facilitate the investigation, which is being led by the National Transportation Safety Board.
There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the aircraft, a Jazz Aviation flight operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to a statement from the airline. The flight originated at Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, the major airport serving Montreal.
Photos and videos from the scene showed severe damage to the front of the aircraft, with cables and debris hanging from a mangled cockpit. Nearby, a damaged emergency vehicle lay on its side.
Stairways used to evacuate passengers from the aircraft were pushed up to the emergency exits on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ. The impact left the jet with its crumpled nose tilted upward.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
