Passengers aboard an Air Canada flight that collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport described scenes of panic and confusion as the aircraft lost control on the runway, while some suggested the pilots’ final actions may have prevented a far greater tragedy.

“It was a regular flight like always,” passenger Jack Cabot told Fox News, referring to the plane that arrived from Montreal shortly before 11:40 p.m. Sunday.

Cabot recounted the moments leading up to the crash, saying the landing felt unusually forceful before things quickly escalated. “As we were arriving, we came down really hard. We stopped really quickly, 2 seconds later, we had an absolute slam,” he said, describing the impact that left the front section of the aircraft destroyed.

Both pilots were killed in the crash, and 41 passengers were taken to hospitals following the incident, which led to the shutdown of the Queens airport for much of Monday.

'IT WAS CHAOS': An Air Canada passenger details the harrowing moments when the plane he was on collided with a fire truck on the runway during landing at LaGuardia Airport. Two pilots were killed and dozens of passengers were injured. pic.twitter.com/7Nt36V5Bfc

— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 23, 2026

Cabot described the immediate aftermath inside the cabin as chaotic and disorienting. “Everybody was flying everywhere. The plane veering off left and right. It was chaos. It didn’t feel like there was anybody controlling it,” he added.

Another passenger said it appeared the pilots attempted a last-second maneuver that may have helped save lives.

“We had just touched down, and maybe about 30 seconds later we all felt a jolt forward, then a loud bang, and what felt like sliding sideways down the runway,” passenger Brady Sego wrote on Reddit.

“Someone did say the pilot tried to reverse thrust at the last second. Honestly, they likely saved our lives. I wish I could tell their families how thankful I am. They are heroes,” he added.

Authorities have not yet released the identities of the pilots, and investigators are still working to determine what caused the crash.

Audio recordings from air traffic control captured tense moments during the incident, including a controller acknowledging a mistake. The recordings reveal one official saying they “messed up.”

Images taken the following morning show extensive damage to the aircraft, with the cockpit area completely destroyed as daylight illuminated the runway.

{Matzav.com}