Fire Truck in LaGuardia Crash Lacked Device Needed to Alert Safety Warning System: NTSB

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The information is still preliminary as the investigation is ongoing, the NTSB says.

A critical runway warning system failed to trigger an alarm before a fatal collision between an Air Canada regional jet and a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, because the truck lacked a key device, federal investigators said on March 24.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the crash that occurred late Sunday evening. The plane’s two pilots were killed, and roughly 40 people were injured and sent to hospitals, including two from the fire truck.

NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told reporters during a news conference Tuesday that the airport’s safety-critical surface radar detection system, known as ASDE-X, did not issue a safety alert to air traffic control because the fire truck lacked a transponder that transmits the vehicle’s location.

ASDE-X is a multi-layered surveillance system that uses radar, sensor input, and satellites to allow air traffic controllers to track the movement of aircraft and vehicles on the ground.

Using data from multiple sensor inputs, the system can track both transponder-equipped and non-transponder-equipped vehicles on the tarmac.

However, due to the “close proximity of vehicles merging and unmerging near the runway” in the moments before the fatal collision, the runway warning system was unable to “create a track of high confidence” to issue an alert to air traffic control, Homendy said.

“Air traffic controllers should know what’s before them, whether it’s on [the] airport surface or in the airspace. They should have that information to ensure safety,” she said.

Investigators said many questions remain regarding the moments leading up to the point of impact. The NTSB is probing why the fire truck crossed the runway while the plane was landing and why it did not stop after the control tower issued last-second warnings.

Investigators have seen surveillance footage of the crash and still need to speak with the firefighters in the truck to determine if they tried to brake or turn to prevent a collision, or if they even heard the control tower’s frantic warnings.

The agency has not yet been able to review the data from the plane’s flight recorder, Homendy said.

There are also questions remaining about the role of air traffic controllers in the crash.

Homendy said the NTSB has seen different information about how many certified controllers were present in the control tower Sunday evening during the time of the crash, and that investigators plan to start interviewing staff on Tuesday afternoon.

“We do, however, know that there were two people in the tower cab at the time of collision: the local controller and the controller in charge,” Homendy said.

The local controller is tasked with managing active runways and the airspace immediately surrounding the airport. The controller in charge handles all safety operations in the tower, and on Sunday evening, was also providing pilots with their departure clearance.

The local controller had recently signed on at 10:45 p.m., while the controller in charge had clocked in 15 minutes prior, Homendy said.

“It is not clear who was conducting the duties of ground controller,” Homendy said, referring to the controller responsible for managing the movements of aircraft and vehicles on the ground.

She said the NTSB has received conflicting information on whether it was the controller in charge or the local controller fulfilling this role Sunday evening, but said combining two controller roles during the midnight shift is standard operating procedure at LaGuardia.

However, Homendy cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the potential role of air traffic control in the crash.

“I would caution against pointing fingers at controllers and saying distraction was involved. This is a heavy workload environment,” she said.

Runway Will Remain Closed

The crash occurred during a time when air travel in the United States had been affected by long security lines due to an ongoing government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as winter storms and rising fuel costs.

After flights were initially cancelled at LaGuardia, they resumed on Monday, but runway 4, where the crash occurred, remains closed.

Homendy said wreckage from the crash is still on the runway, which will likely stay closed for days while the NTSB investigates and sifts through debris.

The plane’s cockpit and flight data recorders were recovered after authorities cut a hole in the aircraft’s roof, Homenday said.

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