National Transportation Safety Board investigators on Tuesday provided new details about Sunday’s deadly collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy led the afternoon briefing following the crash, which killed two pilots and injured dozens more.
A Jazz Aviation flight from Montreal, operating as Air Canada Express Flight AC8646, struck a Port Authority fire truck while landing on Runway 4 late Sunday night. Emergency crews — including the fire truck — were already on the runway responding to a separate United Airlines flight that had reported an odor onboard. The crash halted operations at the busy airport for hours, leading to hundreds of cancellations before LaGuardia reopened Monday afternoon.
Recorders recovered from aircraft
Investigators have recovered both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the aircraft, Homendy said. The devices have been sent to NTSB labs in Washington, D.C., for analysis. The cockpit voice recorder was not damaged, while work to extract data from the flight data recorder is ongoing. Officials hope the recorders will provide key details about the positions of the aircraft and the fire truck in the moments leading up to the collision.
The investigation also includes reviewing surveillance footage, air traffic control communications and radar data.
Questions remain about air traffic control
Investigators are still working to determine who was responsible for directing ground traffic at the time of the crash. Homendy said the NTSB has received conflicting information about whether the controller handling ground movements or the local controller overseeing the runway was in charge. Both controllers were about an hour into their overnight shift, which typically includes two staff members — a standard staffing level for that time of day.
There is currently no indication that fatigue played a role, officials said.
The fire truck involved in the crash did not have a transponder, according to the NTSB.
Possible missed radio transmission
Lead investigator Doug Brazy outlined the final moments before the crash using cockpit voice recorder data. About one minute before the collision, an airport vehicle attempted to make a radio transmission, but it was “stepped on” — or interrupted — by another transmission, making it unclear who sent the message.
The fire truck had been cleared to cross the runway about 20 seconds before the crash, but was then instructed to stop moments later.
Multiple emergency vehicles were responding to the United Airlines flight, which had aborted takeoff twice and reported smoke or fumes in the cabin.
Pilots killed in crash identified
The two pilots killed in the crash have been identified as Mackenzie Gunther and Antoine Forest.
Gunther, the first officer, was a 2023 graduate of Seneca Polytechnic in Toronto and joined Jazz Aviation through the school’s pathway program.
Forest, the captain, was from Coteau-du-Lac in Quebec. Local officials and family members shared tributes honoring his life and career.
Contributing: USA Today network
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NTSB reveals new details in deadly LaGuardia crash that killed 2 pilots
Reporting by Victoria E. Freile, New York Connect Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
