Air-Traffic Controllers Clocked Out Early Before Deadly Crash

Two air-traffic controllers left work early just hours before an Air Canada Express regional jet slammed into a firetruck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport in March, killing two pilots and injuring several others.

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Federal aviation officials have moved to fire the two controllers who left the tower about an hour before their shifts ended on March 22, the Wall Street Journal reported. Their early departure left just two controllers to manage a workload that had swelled to more than twice the airport’s normal traffic volume.

Hours later, an Air Canada Express Bombardier CRJ-900 — flying from Montréal to New York — collided with a Port Authority firetruck on the LaGuardia runway that Sunday shortly before midnight, killing both pilots and leaving dozens injured. 

Footage captured the dramatic collision, showing the plane barreling down the runway as a line of emergency vehicles, their lights flashing, crossed directly into its path. The jet slammed into the first vehicle before grinding to a halt. The aircraft had slowed to approximately 30 miles per hour before the impact, The Daily Wire previously reported. 

The firetruck and the emergency vehicles behind it were responding to a separate incident at LaGuardia and had been cleared to cross the runway. Air Traffic Control audio suggested a mix-up resulted in both the plane and the firetruck arriving at the intersection at the same time.

“Stop! Stop! Fire #1 Stop!” the controller could be heard saying.

After the collision, one controller could be heard saying that he “messed up.”

“No man, you did the best you could,” another replied.

The practice of leaving work before the end of a scheduled shift is known in the industry as an “early shove” and has long been tolerated by some managers, according to the Wall Street Journal. It is still considered a form of timecard fraud, however.

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On that front, the FAA is said to have fired about 10 controllers. 

“The vast majority of air-traffic controllers are great patriots—they show up for work, complete their full shift, and come back and do it all again,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told the Journal. “But when a small percentage of individuals take advantage of the American taxpayer, unfairly add additional work to their fellow controllers, and impact the airspace—we have no choice but to act. We will not tolerate fraud.”

Duffy’s latest statement, however, appears to conflict with his public comments immediately following the crash. In March, he insisted that LaGuardia—one of the nation’s busiest airports—was fully staffed when asked whether a shortage of air-traffic controllers had played a role in the collision.

“I’ve heard the rumor that there was only one controller in the tower, and that is not accurate,” Duffy said at a press conference. “This airport has a target of 37 controllers at LaGuardia. We have 33 controllers employed, certified at LaGuardia, and we have six – seven actually that are in training.” 

“So as our airports go, LaGuardia is a very well-staffed airport,” he added. “We’re a couple controllers short in total, but it is a well-staffed airport.”

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