Runway safety system did not notify air traffic controllers of impending collision

Airport Surface Detection Equipment did not alert controllers in the tower at LaGuardia Airport of a looming crash between an Air Canada Express Jet coming in for a landing and a firetruck crossing the runway on Sunday night, officials said Tuesday.

The ASDE-X system alerts air traffic controllers to potential runway collisions, but it did not activate on Sunday night, when a fire truck rushed across Runway 4 and into the path of the Air Canada Express Jet as it barreled down the runway at 100 miles per hour.

National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters the system “did not alert” due to vehicles merging and unmerging near the runway in close proximity. The firetruck also lacked a special transponder that would have allowed the air traffic controller to more easily track the truck on radar.

The two pilots on the Air Canada jet died in the collision, which tore out the front of the plane after it t-boned the crossing firetruck.

A flight attendant was ejected from the plane, strapped in a jump seat, and survived with broken bones. The two crew members on the firetruck were hospitalized with serious injuries. About 40 passengers were also hospitalized, but many were released on Monday.

The NTSB is investigating the events leading up to the crash, including the actions of the air traffic controllers. The tower cab on Sunday night was staffed with two air traffic controllers, but Ms. Homendy said she’s received conflicting reports as to which controller was overseeing the movements of ground vehicles near the active runways.

In the airport tower audio before the crash, a controller can be heard clearing the fire truck to cross Runway 4.

The truck was headed to a United flight near another runway that reported an odd odor on the plane and had aborted two takeoffs.

Seconds before the Air Canada Express jet touched down, a controller repeatedly told the firetruck to stop. But the truck sped across the runway.

Ms. Homendy said the NTSB has not determined if the crew in the truck heard the last-second directive to stop. Some of the transmissions were inaudible due to cross-talk.

Visibility on the ground was impacted by rain and mist.

Ms. Homendy said the NTSB has not analyzed the flight recorders to determine if the pilots saw the truck or had time to take any evasive action.

The NTSB, Ms. Homendy said, will examine the FAA’s policy allowing controllers to essentially perform double duty during slower times at the airport, namely midnight shifts.

Sunday’s accident occurred around 11:45 p.m. Both controllers in the tower were performing multiple duties, including ground control, clearance for planes to take off and local control of planes arriving at the airport.

“It is standard operating procedure that they only have two on duty, and those two perform the duties of other controllers. That is our understanding right now. However, we’re going to further dig into that as part of our investigation,” Ms. Homendy said. “Our air traffic control team has stated this is a problem. That this is a concern for them for years, that they have had this concern for quite a long time. I can understand it’s a concern, especially if there’s a heavy workload.”

Staffing shortages have plagued the nation’s air traffic control towers, but LaGuardia was adequately staffed, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday. He launched a program last year to boost air traffic control training and hiring, and has provided pay incentives for new employees and to keep those near retirement on the job longer.

Runway near-misses are becoming the norm at America’s busiest airports.

The deadly crash at LaGuardia happened just days after an Alaska Airlines passenger jet carrying 171 passengers and 6 crew members nearly collided with a FedEx Boeing 777 on the runway at Newark Liberty International Airport. Pilots of both aircraft in Newark said the crew followed instructions from air traffic controllers.