LaGuardia's own rulebook may have been broken the night an Air Canada jet slammed into a fire truck, killing both pilots, according to internal procedures reviewed by Reuters. Tower guidelines say controllers handling runway traffic and those managing ground movements are not supposed to be merged into a single role before midnight or 90 minutes into a shift, whichever is later. The March 22 collision happened at 11:37pm, and several controllers told Reuters they believe the runway controller was also working ground traffic, based on audio posted online.
The National Transportation Safety Board is now probing exactly who was doing what in the tower. Chair Jennifer Homendy said last week two controllers were on duty in the glassed-in cab that night: a local controller and a controller-in-charge helping with departure clearances. But it remains unclear who, if anyone, was officially assigned as ground controller. "We have conflicting information," Homendy said. The crash comes amid chronic staffing shortages, with controllers nationwide saying they are increasingly asked to combine positions, even during heavy traffic; LaGuardia saw 70 flights between 10pm and the crash time, well above the usual volume.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it is supporting the NTSB investigation and will act on any safety findings. Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the area's major airports, told CBS New York on Sunday that no procedural changes have been made since the crash. She said they're waiting for the NTSB to "give us some guidance on what occurred and if there's anything that needs to be changed." She declined to speculate on whether airport infrastructure like emergency vehicle routes played a role in the crash. The FAA, she said, "has strong regulatory authority over our airports, including everything from the size of a runway, to the lights, to the signs."
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