by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:30 AM ET, Wed April 1, 2026
A new report claims that air traffic controllers working at
New York’s LaGuardia Airport during the fatal Air Canada collision last month
may have violated rules regarding “combining roles before midnight.”
According to Reuters.com, the deadly Air Canada collision
with a fire truck happened at 11:37 p.m. ET on March 22, and now the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating which duties were being
performed by each air traffic controller before the incident.
Air traffic controller staffing shortages around the United States
have become a major concern, with many employees being asked to combine roles
and handle local air and ground traffic. The issue is that the controllers may
have violated the LaGuardia tower's “standard operating procedures.”
The New York airport’s rules were implemented following a
1997 collision, which led to new procedures that remain in place today,
including the requirement that local and ground positions are not combined
before midnight.
“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,” according to a document obtained by Reuters.
If the NTSB finds that the air traffic controller involved
in the crash was performing both air and ground duties, that would be a
violation of the airport’s operating procedures.
If the controller involved in the crash were performing both
air and ground duties, that would be inconsistent with the LaGuardia tower’s
standard operating procedures. Experts who listened to the audio from the
incident told Reuters they believe the controller managing the active runways
was “also handling traffic on the ground.”
“It is not clear who was conducting the duties of the ground
controller,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said. “We have conflicting information.”
In response, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said
it “supports the NTSB on accident investigations and takes any necessary
safety actions based on the evidence.”
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