LaGuardia tower staffing practices questioned after Air Canada collision

An internal document suggests that air traffic controller staffing at LaGuardia Airport on the night an Air Canada Express plane struck a fire truck may have breached the facility’s procedures by combining positions before midnight.

The document was reviewed by Reuters.

The March 22 crash at the New York airport, around 11:37 p.m. ET, which killed both pilots, has renewed worries about staffing shortages in U.S. air traffic control and the pressures on controllers nationwide.

According to multiple controllers around the country, staffing gaps—including at supervisory levels—are increasingly forcing controllers to manage both local air and ground traffic simultaneously.

READ MORE: “I messed up”: Early audio points to runway clearance error in deadly Air Canada crash at LaGuardia

Staffing worries extend to Canada as well – Nav Canada, which certifies and hires air traffic personnel in Canada, told CTV News on March 25 the shortfall is “approximately 200 air traffic controllers below target.”

Last week, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it was requesting details on the specific duties each controller was performing as part of its investigation into the crash.

If the controller involved in last month’s Air Canada crash was handling both air and ground duties, it would have violated LaGuardia Tower’s standard operating procedures.

A 1997 NTSB report on a collision at LaGuardia between a private jet and a vehicle noted that new procedures were introduced afterward to ensure that “local and ground positions shall not be combined prior to” midnight at the airport, CBC News reports.

According to a 2023 LaGuardia Tower procedures document reviewed by Reuters, this rule is still in effect.

Last week, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told reporters that two controllers were on duty in a glass-enclosed section of LaGuardia’s control tower when the accident occurred.

She said one controller was overseeing the active runways and nearby airspace, while the controller-in-charge was also handling departure clearances for pilots.

"It is not clear who was conducting the duties of the ground controller. We have conflicting information," she said.

Several current and former controllers have suggested that, based on audio posted by LiveATC.net, the local controller may have also been managing ground traffic at the same time.

Air crash investigations typically conclude that accidents arise from multiple contributing factors rather than a single cause.

LaGuardia’s standard operating procedures specify that local and ground positions should not be combined before midnight.

The document also notes that positions may only be consolidated when traffic levels allow, and if they are combined, they must be separated again as traffic increases.

On the night of the Air Canada collision, weather-related delays contributed to 70 commercial flights taking off or landing between 10 p.m. and 11:37 p.m. ET—well above the average of 53 flights during the same period since 2022, according to Cirium data.

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