On March 22, 2026, a Jazz Aviation regional jet collided with a firefighting vehicle that was given clearance to cross the active runway at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York, NY. The crash resulted in the death of both pilots, injuries to a flight attendant and passenger, and two firefighters. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading an investigation into the incident, with assistance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the airline, the aircraft manufacturer, and other relevant parties.

The FAA and the aviation industry have long been concerned about the safety risks involved in airport surface operations, including the movements of aircraft and ground vehicles. The worst crash in civil aviation history occurred in Tenerife, Spain, on March 27, 1977, when two jumbo jets collided, resulting in 583 fatalities. Another notable runway disaster occurred in the United States on February 1, 1991, when a USAir Boeing 737 collided with a SkyWest regional turboprop that had been instructed to line up on the same runway at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). These incidents have prompted a continued focus on identifying and mitigating operational risks in the airport environment.

The FAA closely monitors runway incursions, which are events involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on a runway. These incursions pose a significant collision risk, as the high speeds of aircraft taking off and landing increase the potential for serious damage and injuries. Runway incursions are often caused by human errors, such as incorrect air traffic control clearances, unauthorized landings or takeoffs, or unauthorized entry onto a runway by aircraft or ground vehicles. These errors can be attributed to factors such as reduced visibility, high workload, unfamiliar procedures or settings, and communication errors. The FAA classifies runway incursions based on their severity and the source of the error. However, despite efforts to improve safety, the total number of runway incursions in the United States has remained relatively consistent at around 1,700 per year since 2022. It has been reported that in the past five years, there have been 26 incidents where a collision was narrowly avoided, and 52 incidents where there was a significant risk of collision. Considering that there are over 20 million commercial flights per year, serious runway incursions are low-probability events, but they still pose significant dangers.

LGA is among five high-density traffic airports in the United States with specific caps on the number of hourly operations set by regulation. However, most U. S. airports do not have such caps, and setting operational limits has not been considered a strategy for managing air traffic workload or operational safety at airports in the country.

At the time of the March 22 accident, two controllers were staffing the LGA tower cab, which is the standard level of staffing.