'Like the plane got cut in half': LaGuardia crash that killed two pilots now under investigation

Eyewitnesses have described the moment Air Canada flight AC8646 crashed into a fire truck on the runway of New York's LaGuardia airport, killing two pilots and injuring dozens of others.

"We were literally like 100 metres away," says 23-year-old Leo Medina, who was onboard another plane on the tarmac when the crash happened. "It was like the plane got cut in half."

He told the BBC he then had to return to the gate and had been waiting in the airport for more than 12 hours, sleeping on the floor on a bed of jackets.

After visiting the crash site on Monday, US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said he was reminded of the importance of wearing seat belts - on an aircraft or in any other mode of transportation.

"As you see from last night, they do save lives," Duffy said during a news conference.

Québec native Antoine Forest, 30, was identified as one of the Air Canada pilots who died in the collision, according to reports in Canadian media. The other pilot has not yet been named.

"These were two young men at the start of their career, so it's an absolute tragedy," FAA administrator Bran Bedford said.

In addition to killing the two pilots, the incident, which happened at 23:40 local time on Sunday (03:40 GMT on Monday) injured 41 people who were taken to hospital, some with serious injuries.

Passenger Rebecca Liquori, who was on the plane, which was arriving from Montreal when it hit the truck, told News12 Long Island there was a loud "boom" just after it landed.

"As we were descending, we hit a lot of turbulence," she said. "Then we landed very roughly… Everyone felt it. It was like the plane jolted and you heard the pilot try to brake trying to prevent the collision."

"As you heard the brake, a couple seconds later it was just a very loud boom," she said. "Everybody jolted out of their seats."

In audio from the air traffic control tower at LaGuardia, a staff member can be heard saying: "'Truck One, stop, stop, stop!" in the seconds before the crash.

The fire truck had been called out minutes earlier to an incident on board another plane that "reported an issue with odour", according to Port Authority executive director Kathryn Garcia.

Liquori described passengers helping each other slide down a wing to get out.

"I'm just happy to be alive," she said. "I would have never pictured a one-hour flight that I've done countless times … ending like this."

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described it as a "tragic collision" and said the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating Sunday's incident.

"I am grateful to our first responders, whose swift actions saved lives."

Passenger Jack Cabot - also on the plane that crashed - told CNN there were scenes of chaos.

"We went down for a regular landing," he said. "We immediately hit something and it was just chaos from there … Everybody was hunkered down and everybody was screaming."

CBS News, the BBC's US partner, reported a flight attendant found alive strapped into her seat - but outside of the plane - after falling through a hole in the aircraft's floor during the crash. She's said to have serious but non-life threatening injuries.

Katie Rojas, 26, whose flight to Chicago was on the runway ready to depart when the crash happened said: "It's scary. You never know if it could have been one of us. [moved up]

Many of the 40 taken to hospital have been released. Two people in the fire engine, which collided with the plane, are hospitalised.

At the news conference, New York Mayor Mamdani commended "those who were thrust into a frightening accident and reacted not only with composure, but by extending a hand to the person next to them".

He said he knows the crash has shaken New Yorkers but reassured them that the NTSB is investigating and "we will not rest until the conclusion of that investigation".

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney called the crash "deeply saddening" and US President Donald Trump said the crash is "terrible", describing it as "a dangerous business".

LaGuardia - one of the busiest in the US - closed until 1400 Monday, leaving hundreds of flights delayed or cancelled.It has been more than 34 years since LaGuardia had an incident with a death at the airport, officials said on Monday.

The crash comes during a tumultuous time in air travel. For weeks, US airports have faced Transport Security Administration (TSA) staffing shortages due to the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA, ICE and other agencies.

That has left airport security staff without pay for over a month, led to a spike in TSA agents calling out of work, and caused hours-long delays for travellers at security checkpoints.

One agent at LaGuardia told the BBC that "it's unfortunate" she still must work without pay.

Some of her colleagues have called out sick amid the ongoing shutdown, she said, and while it varies from agent to agent, "for the most part people are trying to show up to work".