‘Just Stop There, Please’: Chilling Air Traffic Audio Captures Seconds Before LaGuardia Crash

Panic-stricken audio from New York’s LaGuardia Airport has surfaced, capturing the final frantic moments before a tragic runway collision between a fire truck and an Air Canada Express aircraft late Sunday night.

“Stop, stop, stop” is what the air traffic controller told the truck driver seconds before it reportedly crashed into the plane, according to the viral clip circulating on social media.

In the recording, an official is first heard coordinating movement on the runway: “Truck 1 and company LaGuardia Tower are requesting to cross 4 at Delta”.

“Truck 1 and company crossing 4,” the officer then responds.

Listen in:

Moments later, the urgency escalates. The controller instructs, “Frontier 4195, just stop there, please”.

How did the ATC respond immediately after the Air Canada plane collided at LaGuardia?

What follows is a burst of alarm.

The crash likely occurred seconds after these warnings.

In the immediate aftermath, the controller directs another aircraft, saying “Delta 2603” should “go around”.

Attention then shifts to the affected flight. “Jet 646. Jet 646, I see you collide with a vehicle.”

“ATC: Shots 646. Shots 646, I see you collide with a vehicle. Hold position; I know you can't move. The vehicle is responding to you now,” the controller tells the pilot of the Air Canada plane.

How did the Air Canada Express CRJ-900 collide with the vehicle at LaGuardia Airport?

According to reports, the vehicle involved was a fire truck attempting to cross the runway to reach a United Airlines flight.

The United 737 Max had declared an emergency on the ground and reportedly requested fire assistance due to a strange odour that was making flight attendants sick.

The Air Canada Express CRJ-900, arriving from Montreal with more than 100 passengers onboard, collided with the vehicle on runway four.

Data from flight tracking website Flightradar24 indicates the aircraft struck the vehicle at a speed of about 24 miles per hour at 11:38 pm local time.

The jet was operated by Jazz Aviation, a regional partner of Air Canada.

Images and videos circulating online show severe damage to the front of the aircraft, which was positioned on a wet runway.

Following the incident, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for all flights at the airport until 0530 GMT.

New York’s emergency management authority cautioned residents to “expect cancellations, road closures, traffic delays & emergency personnel” near the transport hub in Queens and urged people to “Use alternate routes”.

LaGuardia Airport had already been dealing with disruptions due to poor weather a day earlier, compounding the impact of the collision.