LaGuardia Crash: Runway Safety System Failed to Alert Before Collision
A runway safety system designed to track aircraft and vehicles on the ground at LaGuardia Airport did not provide an alert before an Air Canada jet collided with a Port Authority fire truck on Sunday night, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The collision, which occurred shortly after the Air Canada Express flight landed from Montreal around 11:45 p.m., resulted in the deaths of both pilots, identified as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther, and left dozens injured. LaGuardia Airport was closed for more than 12 hours following the incident.
NTSB investigators are focusing on the final three minutes of audio from the cockpit voice recorder, as well as staffing levels in the airport’s air traffic control tower, according to a Tuesday update. At the time of the collision, there were two controllers on duty – the local controller and the controller in charge – which NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy described as standard operating procedure for the midnight shift at LaGuardia.
Homendy cautioned against prematurely assigning blame to air traffic controllers, acknowledging the “heavy workload environment” they operate in. She emphasized that “many, many” layers of safety protocols would have had to fail for such a collision to occur.
Preliminary data indicates the Air Canada plane was traveling between 93 and 105 mph at the moment of impact, according to FlightRadar24. The Port Authority fire truck involved in the collision did not have a transponder, a device that allows the runway safety system to track its location. While not required, Homendy noted that transponders are used on fire trucks at some other airports.
The NTSB investigation revealed the runway safety system failed to generate an alert because of the proximity of vehicles merging and unmerging near the runway, preventing the system from establishing a “track of high confidence.”
Investigators are also examining the timeline of events, including the fire truck’s request to cross the runway, the tower’s clearance, and subsequent instructions for the truck to stop, as detailed in the cockpit voice recorder. The NTSB is also looking into what occurred during the air traffic controllers’ shift change around 10:30 p.m., and whether the controller on duty was relieved in a timely manner after the crash.
Passengers on the flight praised the pilots’ actions. One passenger, identified only as Joe, described feeling a “hard stop” just before the impact. He and his fiancé evacuated the aircraft via an emergency exit and were assisted by first responders. “And just heartbroken for, obviously, the pilots, and all those that are injured,” Joe said.
Runway 4, where the collision occurred, will remain closed until 7 a.m. Friday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The NTSB investigation is ongoing.