NTSB Says LaGuardia Tower Staffing Normal, But Concerns Remain

Investigators are still working to answer critical questions about air traffic control roles on the night an Air Canada flight hit a fire truck.

Zach Vasile

Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 05:05 PM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

NTSB logo and image [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The fatal collision at LaGuardia involved an Air Canada flight hitting a fire truck cleared to cross a runway, with questions remaining about the specific roles of the two standard-staffed air traffic controllers.
The airport's ASDX runway safety system failed to issue an alert due to tracking issues, and the fire truck involved in the collision did not have a transponder.
The NTSB, while noting general concerns about fatigue on midnight shifts, cautioned against blaming distractions and emphasized that accidents typically result from multiple systemic failures.

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There were two air traffic controllers (ATCs) in the tower overseeing LaGuardia Airport (KLGA) at the time of Sunday night’s fatal collision, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday, a figure that is considered standard for the midnight shift at the airport and across much of the nation’s airspace.

Still, questions remain about how many staff overall were at the ATC facility at the time of the crash and what roles the controllers in the tower were filling.