NEW YORK — Pilots had been screaming into the void for months.

In at least a dozen urgent reports filed with NASA’s confidential Aviation Safety Reporting System last summer alone, frustrated captains and first officers begged aviation authorities to fix the chronic safety nightmare at LaGuardia Airport — warnings that now read like eerie premonitions of the catastrophic runway collision that killed two Air Canada pilots and left dozens injured in the early hours of March 23, 2026.

One pilot’s desperate plea still echoes: “Please do something.”

The message, filed after a terrifying close call where air traffic controllers failed to provide proper guidance amid multiple nearby aircraft, was not an isolated complaint. It was part of a growing chorus of alarm from professionals who fly into and out of the notoriously congested New York airport on a daily basis. Pilots described repeated near-misses, confusing clearances, miscommunication between controllers and ground vehicles, and a general sense that LaGuardia’s tight layout and high traffic volume were a disaster waiting to happen.

Then it did.

On Sunday night, Air Canada Express Flight AC8646 — a Bombardier CRJ-900 from Montreal carrying 72 passengers and four crew — touched down on Runway 4 and slammed violently into a Port Authority Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting truck that had crossed the active runway without proper clearance. The impact was so severe it killed both pilots instantly: Captain Antoine Forest, 42, and First Officer MacKenzie Gunther, 31. Miraculously, all passengers and the two surviving flight attendants escaped with injuries, many walking away from the burning wreckage on their own.

Now, as the National Transportation Safety Board digs into the black boxes and communication logs, the earlier pilot reports are coming under intense scrutiny. Many described situations eerily similar to the fatal incident: emergency or service vehicles moving unpredictably, controllers issuing conflicting instructions, and aircraft being placed in harm’s way during critical phases of takeoff or landing.

LaGuardia has long been known as one of the most challenging airports in the U.S. Its compact size, intersecting runways, and heavy volume of regional jets and narrow-body aircraft create constant pressure on air traffic controllers and ground crews. Pilots have repeatedly flagged issues with “runway incursions” — situations where aircraft, vehicles, or personnel end up on an active runway without authorization — as well as poor coordination during low-visibility conditions or when responding to ground incidents.

One report from last summer detailed a near-disaster when a controller failed to properly sequence multiple aircraft, leaving a landing jet dangerously close to another plane taxiing across its path. The pilot wrote that only quick action by the flight crew prevented a collision. Another complaint highlighted confusion over taxi instructions that nearly sent a maintenance aircraft across an active departure runway while a commercial jet was cleared for takeoff.

These were not minor gripes. Pilots described heart-pounding moments where they had to reject takeoffs at high speed or execute abrupt maneuvers to avoid disaster. The recurring theme: a system stretched thin, where small errors in communication or ground movement could — and eventually did — lead to tragedy.

Aviation safety experts have long warned that LaGuardia’s layout makes it particularly vulnerable. The airport’s two intersecting runways and limited space for ground vehicles mean that any breakdown in coordination can have catastrophic consequences. The fatal collision on Sunday appears to be the worst-case scenario many had feared: an emergency vehicle crossing an active runway while a jet was landing, with fatal results.

The pilots’ reports to NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System are designed to be anonymous and non-punitive, encouraging honest feedback to improve safety. The fact that so many filed complaints about the same airport in a relatively short period signals deep systemic concern. One captain reportedly wrote that the frequency of close calls at LaGuardia had become “unacceptable” and urged the FAA to take immediate action before “something terrible happens.”

That “something terrible” happened just months later.

The crash has triggered a full-scale NTSB investigation, with teams examining everything from air traffic control communications and ground vehicle protocols to the response time of emergency services. Preliminary findings suggest a breakdown in coordination between the tower and the Port Authority fire crew, who were responding to a separate “odor of smoke” incident elsewhere on the airfield when they crossed the active runway.

Captain Laura Einsetler, a veteran pilot with more than 30 years of experience flying large commercial jets, called the circumstances surrounding the collision “very unusual and highly disturbing.” Speaking to CBS News 24/7 Mornings, she emphasized that pilots on final approach or rollout rely completely on controllers to keep the runway clear. “We trust the system,” she said. “When that trust fails, the results can be catastrophic.”

The tragedy has also renewed calls for urgent safety reforms at LaGuardia and similar congested airports. Aviation groups are pushing for better ground radar systems, stricter protocols for emergency vehicle movements, improved training for controllers, and possibly even physical changes to the airport’s layout to reduce the risk of incursions.

For the families of Captain Forest and First Officer Gunther, the pain is unimaginable. Both men are being remembered as skilled, dedicated professionals who gave their lives protecting the passengers and crew in their final moments. Survivors have described the pilots’ calm final warning — “We’re going in! Hold on!” — as the reason many on board lived to tell the tale.

As the investigation unfolds, the earlier pilot warnings serve as a sobering reminder: the signs were there. Pilots had been sounding the alarm for months, begging authorities to address the hazards at LaGuardia before it was too late.

Now, two heroic pilots are gone, dozens of passengers are injured, and the aviation community is left asking the same painful question the pilots asked last summer:

Why didn’t someone do something?

The answer may come from the black boxes and communication logs now under intense scrutiny. But for the families, colleagues, and the flying public, no explanation will ever bring back the two men who died doing their jobs on a runway that many had warned was a disaster waiting to happen.

LaGuardia’s deadly night has exposed cracks in the system that can no longer be ignored. The question now is whether the warnings that went unheeded will finally force real change — before the next close call becomes the next tragedy.