FLYING Magazine
The investigation into the ground collision between an airport fire truck and a regional jet at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (KLGA) in March is looking at the possibility that two air traffic controllers in the tower left work early that night.
According to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday, a source close to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation has found the controllers have been placed on unpaid leave.
The accident, which took place March 22, involved a landing aircraft and a fire truck that was attempting to cross the active runway to reach an incident on the other side of the field.
The pilots of Air Canada Express Flight 8646 were killed when the jet collided with the fire truck that had entered the active runway. There were 72 passengers and four crewmembers on board the aircraft. Several people were injured.
“The FAA is committed to holding employees accountable, and we will not compromise the safety or efficiency of the National Airspace System,” the FAA said in a statement. “At the same time, we are strengthening our workforce at a record pace, with more than 2,000 controllers hired in 2026, the most in a single year and 20 percent more than in 2024. We have already met 94 percent of our hiring goal for the year.”
The NTSB is still investigating the accident. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) and FAA are also part of the investigation.