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“Hey, I’ll say it again, LaGuardia. Now that United says he needs a gate, but so now he’s declaring an emergency, but the ramp doesn’t have a gate for him.”
An Air Canada Express plane sits on the tarmac after colliding with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026, in New York City. | Source: YouTube/KHOU 11
The Tension Kept Building on the Ground
As responders worked to manage the situation, the transcript shows preparations being made in case passengers needed to get off the plane without a gate.
At 3:19, one person says, “We can get a sand truck if you need them to get off the plane.” Just moments later came the response: “Okay, yeah, yeah, do that just in case they want to come off.”
Passenger plane collides with a fire truck while landing at LaGuardia Airport. | Source: Getty Images
Even then, the crew seemed to prefer waiting rather than rushing into an evacuation. The ground crew later messaged the aircraft at 3:35 to explain that the ramp lacked an available gate. The dispatcher added that they were contacting the Port Authority to find an alternative solution.
