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... The crash at the New York airport at about 11:37 p.m. ET on March 22, which killed both pilots, has revived concerns over U.S. air traffic control staffing shortages and the workload of controllers across the country. ...

The National Transportation Safety Board said last week that as part of its crash investigation, it was seeking information on the duties being performed by each controller.

If the controller involved in the crash was performing both air and ground duties, that would be inconsistent with the LaGuardia tower's standard operating procedures.

An NTSB final report on a 1997 collision at LaGuardia between a private jet and a vehicle referenced new procedures being put in place afterward to ensure "local and ground positions shall not be combined prior to" midnight at the New York airport.

As of 2023, the rule remained in place, according to a LaGuardia Tower Standard Operating Procedures document seen by Reuters.

"Positions at LaGuardia Tower are not to be consolidated to one position prior to midnight local time or 90 minutes after the start of the shift, whichever is later," said the 2023 document, which people familiar with the matter said remained current in 2026. ...