NTSB probes controller as part of investigation LGA crash

Monday, March 23, 2026

Investigators probing the deadly collision of an Air Canada jet with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia airport said on Monday they wanted to interview an air traffic controller who was juggling another emergency in the run-up to the crash.

Posted by LampLighter at 09:26 PM | 11 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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More from the article...

...Fire trucks that had appeared to have been cleared by the same controller to cross Runway 4 at the airport were headed to the United flight as the Air Canada Express CRJ-900 jet operated by regional partner Jazz Aviation landed with 72 passengers and four crew.
"Stop, truck one, stop," the controller said, shortly after approving passage across the runway. The arriving plane then hit the fire truck.

According to separate audio posted by liveatc.net, an unidentified controller who appears to be the one involved in the crash, told another pilot after the collision that he had been dealing with an emergency earlier.

"I messed up," he said in a shaken voice.

The pilot of the other plane, which had seen the crash, responded "Nah man, you did the best you could." The pilot had said the earlier incident "wasn't good to watch." ...

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-03-23 09:29 PM | Reply

@#2

The audio of that conversation, played on the local news, was difficult to listen to.

#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-03-23 09:30 PM | Reply

While it appears the controller gave clearance, and did mess up, it wasn't the primary reason for the accident.

The runway status lights (there are various kinds) were activated and the driver of the emergency vehicle proceeded anyway. In one of the videos, the "company of vehicles" stopped, the lead vehicle did not.

RWSL is currently installed at Seattle-Tacoma, San Francisco, Los Angeles, McCarran, Phoenix Sky Harbor, George Bush Intercontinental, Minneapolis-St Paul, Chicago O'Hare, Detroit Metropolitan, LaGuardia, Newark, John F. Kennedy, Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport, Washington Dulles, Charlotte Douglas, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood.
skybrary.aero

To cross the runway, the vehicle needed both the REL and Clearance from a controller.

#4 | Posted by oneironaut at 2026-03-23 09:44 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

What is it with Republicans and firing Air Traffic Controllers.

#5 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-03-23 09:44 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

@#5 ... What is it with Republicans and firing Air Traffic Controllers. ...

Yeah. What do Republicans seem to have against Air Traffic Controllers?

I do await the results of the NTSB investigation to see what happened in this terrible incident.

#6 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-03-23 10:26 PM | Reply

they wanted to interview an air traffic controller

Oh, I bet they do. And likely have.

#7 | Posted by REDIAL at 2026-03-24 12:13 AM | Reply