Investigators focused on air-control staffing, final minutes of cockpit audio before LaGuardia collision: NTSB

‘Many, many things’ would have gone wrong for such a major incident to happen, board chair says

Investigators approach the wreckage of a plane.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators on Tuesday inspect the wreckage of an Air Canada Express jet that collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport. (National Transportation Safety Board)

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The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provided more details on Tuesday on its investigation into the deadly collision between an Air Canada Express jet and a Port Authority fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia airport.
Investigators are focusing on the final three minutes of audio from the cockpit recorder, as well as staffing in the airport’s air traffic control tower.
The NTSB chair said she would caution against “pointing fingers” at air traffic controllers, who work in “a heavy workload environment” day in and day out.
She said “many, many” layers of protection would have had to fail for such a collision to happen.
Two pilots died in the collision. Radio-Canada sources identified them as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther.

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Pinned

Key takeaways from the NTSB briefing

Verity Stevenson

Was the air traffic control tower at LaGuardia airport adequately staffed?

March 24|

Duration1:50

U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy says the NTSB will investigate whether the number of people on duty for that midnight shift at New York’s LaGuardia airport was a factor in Sunday’s crash between an Air Canada Express aircraft and an aircraft firefighting truck.

There was a lot of information in that rapid-fire news conference. Here are some of the main points:

Investigators say the Jazz flight was cleared to land and on a stable approach when a fire truck was also cleared to cross Runway 4. In the final seconds before the collision, the tower ordered the vehicle to stop. The instruction came just before the plane touched down.

The fire truck did not have a transponder, meaning controllers were relying on less precise radar “blips.” This could have affected situational awareness.

A surface detection system designed to warn of runway conflicts did not issue an alert. Investigators say that’s because multiple vehicles were clustered together, preventing the system from generating a reliable track.

Only two controllers were working in the tower overnight, combining multiple roles including ground and local control. The NTSB says that setup is standard for the midnight shift but there have been long-standing concerns about workload and fatigue.

At least one radio transmission was “stepped on” — meaning it was partially blocked by another call — something investigators say could have prevented critical information from being heard.

It’s still unclear whether the pilots saw the truck, whether firefighters heard the order to stop, or how many vehicles were near the runway at the time.
The cockpit voice recorder shows a routine landing sequence, with the first officer handing control to the captain just six seconds before impact.

Updates

Latest first

March 25

What the last 3 minutes of flight data reveal

Graeme Bruce

Here is a summary of key events in the three minutes before Air Canada Flight 8646 collided with the fire truck, as captured by the cockpit voice recorder.

3 Canadian investigators are on site in New York

Verity Stevenson

Canada’s role in the LaGuardia crash investigation

March 24|

Duration2:16

Transportation Safety Board chair Yoan Marier describes what evidence Canadian investigators will have access to around the Air Canada Jazz crash at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and why this investigation will be especially complex.

Yoan Marier, the chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, says three Canadian investigators are on site at LaGuardia along with the NTSB, “to support them in their work and represent Canadian interests.”

Marier told CBC News Network he can’t comment on the investigation itself, but said the TSB investigators are acting as “a conduit” between evidence collected in the U.S. and the plane’s operator and manufacturer, which are based in Canada.

Marier also said the issue of runway incursions has been on the TSB’s watchlist since 2010.

Did the flight captain take control to try to avoid a collision?

David Common

What the pilots may have seen before the deadly crash at LaGuardia airport

March 24|

Duration11:53

A jet collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia airport on Monday, killing both pilots. Aaron Murphy is a Canadian pilot and flight instructor. From inside a flight simulator, Murphy breaks down the conditions the pilots faced — and what they may have seen.

The NTSB briefing gave us a clue about what might have happened inside the cockpit immediately after the plane touched down.

It relates to the captain taking control of the airliner two seconds after landing, and six seconds before the collision with the fire truck.

On any airline flight deck, there is always a pilot flying and a pilot not flying. It is normal for airline pilots to switch between the individual journeys of a multi-leg workday.

In this case, First Officer Mackenzie Gunther was flying into LaGuardia Airport.

The NTSB’s preliminary listen of the cockpit voice recorder indicates that almost immediately after touchdown, Capt. Antoine Forest took what is known as “positive control” of the aircraft.

It is possible this was a normal procedure. But it is also possible this was in response to the impending disaster.

While passengers on board the flight have reported what seemed like heavier than usual braking, there is a key question about steering. The nose wheel, which steers an aircraft once on the ground, is controlled from the cockpit using what’s known as the tiller.

On the CRJ-900 aircraft there is only one tiller and it is located adjacent to the left seat, which is typically occupied by the captain.

It is possible Forest saw the fire truck, took control and attempted to steer the plane to the right, away from the truck that entered the runway from the left.

Only the NTSB investigation can determine if that is indeed what occurred.

Key takeaways from the NTSB briefing

Verity Stevenson

Was the air traffic control tower at LaGuardia airport adequately staffed?

March 24|

Duration1:50

U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy says the NTSB will investigate whether the number of people on duty for that midnight shift at New York’s LaGuardia airport was a factor in Sunday’s crash between an Air Canada Express aircraft and an aircraft firefighting truck.

There was a lot of information in that rapid-fire news conference. Here are some of the main points:

Investigators say the Jazz flight was cleared to land and on a stable approach when a fire truck was also cleared to cross Runway 4. In the final seconds before the collision, the tower ordered the vehicle to stop. The instruction came just before the plane touched down.

The fire truck did not have a transponder, meaning controllers were relying on less precise radar “blips.” This could have affected situational awareness.

A surface detection system designed to warn of runway conflicts did not issue an alert. Investigators say that’s because multiple vehicles were clustered together, preventing the system from generating a reliable track.

Only two controllers were working in the tower overnight, combining multiple roles including ground and local control. The NTSB says that setup is standard for the midnight shift but there have been long-standing concerns about workload and fatigue.

At least one radio transmission was “stepped on” — meaning it was partially blocked by another call — something investigators say could have prevented critical information from being heard.

It’s still unclear whether the pilots saw the truck, whether firefighters heard the order to stop, or how many vehicles were near the runway at the time.
The cockpit voice recorder shows a routine landing sequence, with the first officer handing control to the captain just six seconds before impact.


Sarah Petz

Homendy also cautioned against “pointing fingers” at air traffic controllers. She said several things must have gone wrong for such a major accident to happen.

“Our aviation system is incredibly safe because there are multiple, multiple layers of defence built in to prevent an accident,” she said.

“So when something goes wrong, that means many, many things went wrong.”


Sarah Petz

Homendy said the investigation will look at whether the fire truck should have had a transponder, which it would have needed to trigger an alarm as part of the runway warning system.

She said, in her opinion, it should have had one.

“Even though we don’t have a recommendation, air traffic controllers should know what’s before them — whether it’s airport surface or in the airspace,” she said. “They should have that information to ensure safety.”

Homendy made it clear that’s not an official recommendation from the NTSB — “but it could be.”


Verity Stevenson

It’s unclear whether the firefighting truck attempted to turn or brake.

“I’ve probably seen the same CCTV footage you have,” Homendy told reporters. She said investigators would be interviewing the two firefighters who survived the crash.

Repeating the fact that today is her team’s first full day at the scene, Homendy added: “We can’t say at this time whether that would have made a difference or not.”

She also said there was “no indication there were transponders on any of the trucks.”


Verity Stevenson

Homendy was asked whether the crash could have been caused by controller having more than one job.

She said she couldn’t answer that yet, but “those are the exact type of questions that we will ask” when investigators speak to the air traffic controllers and others involved.

“Controllers should have all the info and tools they need to do their job,” she said. “This is 2026.”

She noted controllers are using an “old system” that needs to be upgraded, and that safety needs to improve “all around.”


Sarah Petz

Homendy said the investigating team is working on confirming the timeline of events. But they do know that the firetruck involved was heading to a United Airlines flight where there were reportedly fumes onboard.

That truck also did not have a transponder, she said.

As for the air traffic control tower, Homendy said the NTSB has seen “different information” as to just how many certified controllers were in the facility at the time of the collision. She also noted investigators have seen “conflicting information” in the control tower’s logs that they need to verify.


Sarah Petz

Doug Brazy, the lead investigator, just read out a summary of events from the cockpit voice recorder, which again confirms that the fire truck was cleared to cross the runway before the collision.

But it also shows that about a minute before the collision, an airport vehicle that was on the runway made a radio transmission to the air traffic control control tower that was “stepped on” by another radio transmission, Brazy said. The source of that other radio transmission has yet to be identified, he said.