NEW YORK (AP) — Federal investigators revealed on Tuesday that just 12 seconds before an Air Canada flight landed at LaGuardia Airport, one of only two air traffic controllers on duty cleared a fire truck to cross a runway. This left very little time to avert the collision that resulted in the deaths of both pilots.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is examining which safety protocols at the airport failed, allowing the fire truck to access the runway on Sunday night. Key areas of focus include whether having two controllers on night shifts is adequate, why a runway warning system failed to predict the potential crash, and the coordination of air and ground traffic.
Jennifer Homendy, NTSB chair, emphasized that major accidents typically involve multiple failures rather than a single issue. Several passengers sustained injuries when the Air Canada plane, coming from Montreal with over 70 people on board, collided with the fire truck. Fortunately, most passengers escaped safely, and a flight attendant was found alive after being thrown from the aircraft.
Investigators have yet to interview the injured firefighters or ascertain if they braked or attempted to swerve to avoid the accident, Homendy mentioned. There’s also scrutiny on the actions of the controllers, especially considering they were managing an urgent incident involving an outbound United Airlines plane.
The NTSB is questioning the adequacy of having two controllers on overnight shifts, a measure instituted in 2018 after previous incidents of controllers falling asleep. The demand on the tower was especially high that night, with significantly more flights landing and taking off than scheduled due to delays.
LaGuardia is equipped with an advanced surface surveillance system designed to help prevent dangerous incursions, but it malfunctioned in this instance since the fire truck lacked a transponder. The NTSB noted that federal funding was recently made available to help airports equip their vehicles with such devices to enhance safety.
A timeline based on data from the Air Canada jet’s cockpit voice recorder outlined the last moments prior to the crash. Investigators noted that the fire truck requested runway access shortly before being cleared, and controllers attempted to halt the vehicle just seconds before impact. Meanwhile, the airport’s runway status lights, meant to warn oncoming vehicles, were functioning correctly, indicating the runway’s occupancy.
The crash contributed to already heightened frustrations with air travel in the U.S., amidst ongoing issues with long security lines, winter weather, and rising costs. While operations at LaGuardia resumed on Monday, it faced significant delays and cancellations, particularly for flights on the affected runway. The incident marked the first fatal crash at LaGuardia in 34 years, with the deceased pilots hailing from Canada.
