Transcript suggests confusion before deadly LaGuardia crash in New York

An Air Canada Express CRJ-900 sits on the runway after colliding with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia Airport in New York, yesterday. The pilot and co-pilot were killed. Photo / Timothy A. Clary, AFP

Moments before an Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck on the runway of New York’s LaGuardia Airport, a traffic controller cleared the truck to cross the runway and then urgently ordered it to halt, a recording showed.

The collision yesterday killed the pilot and co-pilot, and 41 people on board were taken to the hospital, officials said.

The plane, operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Air Canada, struck the fire truck on Runway four at around 11.40pm local time as the truck drove to a separate incident.

Below is a transcript of the exchange:

Driver: “Truck one and company, LaGuardia Tower. Requesting to cross four at Delta.”

Controller: “Truck one and company, cross four at Delta”.

Driver: “Truck one and company crossing four at Delta”.

Controller: “Frontier 4195, stop there please. (Pause.) Stop, stop, stop, truck one, stop, stop, stop. Stop, truck one, stop! Stop, truck one, stop.”

(Alarm goes off.)

“Jazz 646. Jazz 646, I see you collided with vehicle. (Inaudible) Hold position. I know he can’t move. Vehicles are responding to you now.”

After further dialogue.

Second controller: “Man, that wasn’t good to watch”.

First controller: “Yeah, I know. I was here. I tried to reach out to my staff. And we were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up.”

Second controller: “No man, you did the best you could”.

-Agence France-Presse