NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The US Federal Aviation Administration is taking steps to fire two air traffic controllers determined to have left their shifts early before an Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport in March, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move is in keeping with a broader push by the Trump administration to crack down on controllers leaving shifts early or abusing sick leave, said the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the information isn’t public.
“The FAA is committed to holding employees accountable, and we will not compromise the safety or efficiency of the National Airspace System,” the agency said in an emailed statement. The regulator said it’s meanwhile staffing up its controller workforce through hiring.
So-called early shoves are a longstanding, informal practice where supervisors give controllers permission to leave early during slow periods, while still giving them full pay.
“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,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. “We will not tolerate fraud, and we are taking appropriate action to hold folks accountable and prevent unlawful practices from disrupting the traveling public.”
The two pilots on the Air Canada Express plane, operated by Jazz Aviation LP, died as a result of the crash at LaGuardia on March 22. The aircraft, which took off from Montreal, was carrying 72 passengers and four crew. The plane hit a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey fire truck after touching down shortly before midnight and came to a standstill about halfway down the runway.
LaGuardia Airport fatal crash diagram.Bloomberg
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union that represents controllers, said it’s actively discussing the allegations with FAA leadership.
“We believe those discussions are the appropriate forum for addressing the matter,” the association said.
A representative for the National Transportation Safety Board said the case is still under active investigation.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Thursday that the agency is conducting a broader review of alleged timecard fraud and is moving to fire the two controllers.
The tragedy at LaGuardia followed a string of fatal aviation disasters last year, including a midair collision between a regional commercial jet and a US Army helicopter near Washington that killed 67 people and a fiery United Parcel Service Inc. freighter crash that resulted in the deaths of 15 people on the aircraft and on the ground.
LaGuardia is the New York region’s third-busiest airport and handles more than 30 million passengers a year. Poor weather had caused flight disruptions at the airport in the hours prior to the fatal accident.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters during a March briefing that two controllers were guiding traffic from LaGuardia’s tower that evening. A total of four people were on duty at the time, though only two were in the so-called cab — the panoramic, glass-enclosed room atop the tower where air traffic controllers work, she said at the time, confirming a prior Bloomberg report.
She said then that it was “standard operating procedure” at the airport to have two controllers in the tower cab for the “midnight shift,” and that they often performed combined duties normally handled by other controllers.
The fire truck involved in the collision was responding to a different emergency on a United Airlines Holdings Inc. flight after pilots reported an unusual odor coming from the cabin. The truck, operated by two first responders, requested clearance to cross runway 4, where the Air Canada Express jet was due to land, and was given the go-ahead by air traffic control.
Though shortly after, a controller could be heard telling the truck driver to stop. Later, what sounds like the same controller said, “I messed up,” when discussing the matter with another pilot.
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