A deadly ground collision at LaGuardia Airport late Sunday raised new questions about air traffic controller staffing at the nation’s busiest airports, where hundreds of runway incursions and many “near misses” are recorded every year.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed Monday that two pilots of an Air Canada Express plane died and dozens of passengers were injured after the aircraft plowed into a fire truck that sped across the runway as the jet was landing. The truck was initially cleared to cross the runway by an air traffic controller who delivered three chilling words after the crash: “I messed up.”
Mr. Duffy, addressing reporters at the airport, declined to provide details about how the crash may have happened. The collision is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Mr. Duffy called reports that only one controller was on duty in LaGuardia’s air traffic tower at the time of the crash “not accurate.” He would not disclose the number of staff on duty in the tower at the time of the collision.
Days earlier, an Alaska Airlines jet carrying 171 passengers and six crew members nearly collided with a FedEx Boeing 777 on the runway at Newark Liberty International Airport. Pilots of both aircraft in Newark said the crew followed instructions from air traffic controllers.
From October through February, 498 runway incursions were reported at U.S. airports, up slightly from 496 over the same period a year earlier. A runway incursion can occur when vehicles or pilots enter a runway without permission. Sometimes, air traffic controllers are to blame for failure to provide the required minimum separation between aircraft or between aircraft and vehicles.
Air traffic controllers have been under increased scrutiny because of staffing shortages and a string of incidents involving near misses at some of the nation’s busiest airports, as well as the fatal midair collision last year at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people.
Mr. Duffy said Monday he had asked Congress for additional funding to pay for a suite of technology upgrades at air traffic towers that would modernize the system and make the jobs of controllers “much easier.”
Mr. Duffy has worked to address significant air traffic control staffing shortages by offering pay raises, accelerated hiring and training with a focus on merit, and 20% bonuses to retain air traffic controllers who are eligible to retire.
Mr. Duffy called New York’s LaGuardia “a very well-staffed” control tower, with 33 certified controllers and seven trainees. The airport “has a target” of 37 fully trained controllers, Mr. Duffy said.
He declined to provide specifics on any preliminary findings about the collision.
“It’s troubling that we had an aircraft hit a fire truck,” Mr. Duffy said. “That’s troubling. Full stop.”
It happened after a United Airlines flight aborted takeoff because flight attendants had reported a strong smell in the back of the aircraft.
An air traffic controller deployed a Port Authority fire truck to the United Airlines aircraft and gave it clearance to cross Runway 4, where the Air Canada flight was headed for a landing. Visibility was affected by rain and mist.
Audio indicates the air traffic controller attempted to halt the fire truck at the last moment. Security footage shows the aircraft speeding down the runway and plowing into the fire truck, shearing off the cockpit.
Both crew members in the fire truck survived and were hospitalized. More than 40 passengers were taken to hospitals, although many have been released.
The airport remained closed until 2 p.m. Monday.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the fatal crash was the first at LaGuardia in more than 30 years.
Airports nationwide had been experiencing slowdowns at security checkpoints because of a political battle over funding for the Homeland Security Department, which includes the Transportation Security Administration.
Many TSA agents stopped showing up for work after missing weeks of pay. Mr. Trump deployed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Monday to assist at airports.
“Let’s acknowledge the tremendous stress, particularly in recent days, that our airline workers are under. And as we come through here, know that this is an ecosystem which is not self-sustaining. There are countless individuals who step up every day, willing to do the hard work to make sure we’re safe,” Ms. Hochul said.
Moments after the crash, an air traffic controller, directing a Frontier Airlines jet off the closed runway, told the pilot he had “tried to reach out” to the truck and had been dealing with an “emergency earlier,” presumably the United Airlines flight.
“I messed up,” the controller told the pilot, according to the audio. The pilot responded, “Nah, man, you did the best you could.”
