LaGuardia Runway Reopens After Deadly Crash

Air Canada CEO apologizes for English-only remarks following incident that killed two

Mar. 27, 2026 at 3:10am

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A LaGuardia Airport runway that was closed after a fatal crash between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck on Sunday night has reopened. The incident killed two people and injured dozens more. Air Canada's CEO also issued an apology for his previous English-only statement of condolence, acknowledging his inability to communicate in French despite leading the nation's flagship carrier.

Why it matters

The reopening of the runway at LaGuardia is a critical step in restoring full operations at the busy New York City airport. The crash and CEO's language gaffe also highlight ongoing challenges around aviation safety and the expectations of bilingual communication for major companies in Canada's officially bilingual context.

The details

The crash occurred late Sunday night on Runway 4/22 at LaGuardia when an Air Canada Express flight from Montreal collided with a Port Authority fire truck that was responding to another incident. The pilot and co-pilot of the Bombardier CRJ-900 jet were killed, while 41 passengers and crew, as well as the two officers in the fire truck, were hospitalized. The runway was closed to allow for cleanup and investigation, but has now reopened after repairs and inspections.

  • The crash occurred late Sunday night.
  • The runway reopened on Thursday morning at 9:58 a.m.

The players

Air Canada

Canada's national airline and flag carrier.

Michael Rousseau

The CEO of Air Canada who issued an apology for his previous English-only statement of condolence following the crash.

Marc Carney

The Prime Minister of Canada who criticized Rousseau's unilingual message, stating that companies like Air Canada have a responsibility to communicate in both of Canada's official languages.

Antoine Forest

One of the pilots killed in the crash, who was French-speaking.

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

The agency that operates LaGuardia Airport and confirmed the runway's reopening.

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What they’re saying

“I am deeply saddened that my inability to speak French has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families and the great resilience of Air Canada's employees, who have demonstrated outstanding professionalism despite the events of the past few days.”

— Michael Rousseau, CEO, Air Canada

“We proudly live in a bilingual country, and companies like Air Canada particularly have a responsibility to always communicate in both official languages, regardless of the situation. I'm very disappointed, as others are -- rightly so -- in this unilingual message of the CEO of Air Canada.”

— Marc Carney, Prime Minister of Canada

What’s next

The National Transportation Safety Board will continue its investigation into the cause of the crash, with a final report expected in the coming months.

The takeaway

This incident underscores the importance of aviation safety, as well as the expectations for major companies in Canada to communicate effectively in both of the country's official languages, even during times of crisis. The reopening of the LaGuardia runway is a positive step, but the broader lessons around bilingual communication and transparency will likely continue to be debated.