NEW YORK (AP) — All but four of the passengers injured in Sunday’s deadly collision between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck have been released from the hospital, the airline said Wednesday, as crews began moving the mangled aircraft off the runaway at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
The crash, which remains under investigation, killed two pilots. Roughly 40 people were treated at area hospitals for a range of injuries, some serious. Further details on the four people who remained hospitalized were not immediately available.
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Airplane enthusiast Jean-Francois Lamarche visits a memorial for Air Canada Jazz pilot Antoine Forest, who perished when his plane collided with an emergency vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport, in Montreal, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
A man places a white rose on the memorial for Air Canada Jazz pilot Antoine Forest, who perished when his plane collided with an emergency vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport, in Montreal, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
An airport maintenance crew moves the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, from the runway where it had collided with a Port Authority fire truck Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
The wreckage of Port Authority fire truck is left on a tarmac after the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet was moved from the runway, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, where they collided Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
An Air Canada Express jet taxis past the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, as maintenance crews prepare to move the plane from the runway where it had collided with a Port Authority fire truck Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
The plane, which originated in Montreal, was carrying 76 people, including the crew, when it slammed into the fire truck that had driven out onto the runway. Seconds before the collision, an air traffic controller had cleared the truck to cross the runway.
Since Monday, much of the wreckage had remained on the tarmac, blocking access to one of two runways at one of the country's busiest airports.
Just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, airport workers began towing the remnants away. Two big tow trucks working in tandem also righted the badly damaged fire truck, which had been laying on its side since the crash.
The jet’s tail end was lifted onto a large dolly, which was then towed via long tethers by two vehicles driving side by side. Earlier in the day, much of the wreckage of the nose, which was obliterated in the collision, was cut away by work crews. As it was towed, the middle of the plane was supported by its own landing gear, which appeared to be intact.
In a statement, Air Canada said the plane would be taken to a hangar. The airline said it would soon begin the process of reuniting people with baggage and personal belongings.
After the collision, many onboard managed to escape the damaged aircraft, including a flight attendant who survived after being thrown onto the tarmac while still strapped in her seat.
The two pilots have been identified as Mackenzie Gunther and Antoine Forest. At least one passenger, Clément Lelièvre, credited their “incredible reflexes” in saving his life and those of others, noting they braked extremely hard just as the plane touched down.
The two Port Authority Police Department firefighters in the truck survived.
This story has been corrected to reflect that there were 76 people aboard the plane, not 70.
Airplane enthusiast Jean-Francois Lamarche visits a memorial for Air Canada Jazz pilot Antoine Forest, who perished when his plane collided with an emergency vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport, in Montreal, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
A man places a white rose on the memorial for Air Canada Jazz pilot Antoine Forest, who perished when his plane collided with an emergency vehicle at New York's LaGuardia Airport, in Montreal, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)
An airport maintenance crew moves the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, from the runway where it had collided with a Port Authority fire truck Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
The wreckage of Port Authority fire truck is left on a tarmac after the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet was moved from the runway, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, where they collided Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
An Air Canada Express jet taxis past the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, as maintenance crews prepare to move the plane from the runway where it had collided with a Port Authority fire truck Sunday night at LaGuardia Airport, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.
The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.
On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime."
Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.
“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”
A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin's handling of the situation.
“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.
The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”
“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.
The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”
Thursday's release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn't in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.
The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump's negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats' messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”
“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”
The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”
Trump's attack on Harris' transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.
Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign's “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris' previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.
Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response," the report said.
The report criticized Harris' outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party's focus on “identity politics.”
“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”
The report also references Democrats' underperformance with male voters of color.
“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)
