Air Canada Flight 8646 Collision Speed at LaGuardia Preliminary reports indicate the Air Canada plane, Flight 8646 from Montreal, was traveling between 93 and 105 mph (about 150-169 km/h) when it collided with a fire truck on the runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Sunday evening, March 22, 2026. This data comes from Flightradar24 tracking shared with ABC News, correcting an earlier erroneous post claiming a much lower speed of 39 km/h, which was not the impact velocity. Other sources align closely, noting roughly 160 km/h at the moment of impact during post-landing rollout.

Incident Timeline

The regional jet, operated by Jazz Aviation for Air Canada with 72 passengers and 4 crew, departed Montreal late at around 10:12 p.m. after delays.

  • Landed at LaGuardia around its scheduled time but veered into a taxiway collision amid air traffic control warnings ("stop" called 10+ times).
  • Impact occurred ~22 seconds after final position data, resulting in 2 fatalities (fire truck personnel), dozens injured, and airport closure.
  • Passengers described chaos: broken noses, head impacts on seats from the sudden jolt.

Speed Context and Variations

Reports vary slightly due to preliminary ADS-B data limitations post-landing:

Source| Speed (mph)| Speed (km/h)| Notes
---|---|---|---
Flightradar24 via ABC 345| 93-105| ~150-169| Impact speed range
CBC timeline 1| ~100| ~160| Aggregated from news
Initial (retracted) 1| ~24| 39| Not at crash; removed

This speed is typical for a Dash 8 or similar regional jet decelerating on a short runway like LaGuardia's—far from takeoff velocity but forceful enough for tragedy on the ground.

Trending Forum Buzz and Eyewitness Takes

Social media lit up fast, with X (Twitter) posts amplifying Flightradar24 data amid shock over the "unheard of" runway incursion.

  • Passenger POV : "We walked past a guy rows back—nose totally broken, bleeding... lots smacked heads."
  • Aviation forums (e.g., speculated on Reddit/PPRuNe): Confusion over why emergency vehicles were on active runway; ATC audio hints at miscommunication in snow/traffic.
  • Multiple viewpoints: Some blame fire truck positioning, others pilot overrun or runway excursion—NTSB probe ongoing as of March 24, 2026.

"Air traffic controller said 'stop' at least 10 times." – CBC report on final moments

Why This Matters Now

As of March 24, 2026 (today), LaGuardia flights have resumed but scrutiny grows on airport ops under President Trump's FAA amid winter ops. No final cause yet, but speed data underscores how even "taxi speeds" pack deadly force. Trending as a cautionary tale in aviation circles.

TL;DR : 93-105 mph at collision per latest Flightradar24 data—devastating but not extreme for landing rollout.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.