‘...I messed up’: Air traffic control audio reveals warnings before deadly LaGuardia crash

Air traffic control audio captured the final moments before a deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport in New York, as a controller desperately tried to stop a fire truck crossing the runway.

“Stop, stop, stop, Truck 1. Stop, stop, stop,” the controller is heard saying, moments before an incoming aircraft struck the vehicle. The controller later admitted: “We were dealing with an emergency earlier… I messed up.”

-Pilot and co-pilot were killed

-Over 70 passengers were onboard

-Several passengers and crew were injured

Around 40 people from the aircraft and two from the fire truck were taken to hospitals, with most later released.

Investigators are now focusing on coordination between ground vehicles and air traffic control during the emergency response.

-The aircraft’s nose crushed and cockpit mangled

-Debris and cables hanging from the front section

-The fire truck overturned, heavily damaged at the rear

The aircraft had departed from Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

-Over 600 flights were cancelled

-Operations halted until at least Monday afternoon

-Disruptions worsened by ongoing US government shutdown

-Investigations underway

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the probe, with assistance from Canadian authorities.

(With Reuters inputs)