(Bloomberg) — A system designed to help air traffic controllers track vehicles and planes on the ground failed to alert personnel at LaGuardia Airport before an Air Canada Express plane collided with a fire truck late Sunday night, killing two pilots.
The analysis found that the system, known as ASDE-X, did not issue any alerts to two control units in the tower because of “the close proximity of vehicles merging and disconnecting near the runway,” US National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference on Tuesday.
The emergency response vehicle was also not equipped with a transponder to help determine its location, Homendy said.
The revelations provide new clues for NTSB investigators looking into why an Air Canada plane carrying 76 people crashed into a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey fire truck that was crossing an active runway.
A fire truck responded to another emergency on a United Airlines Holdings Inc. flight. after pilots reported an unusual odor coming from the cabin. The truck, operated by two emergency responders, requested permission to cross Runway 4, where the Air Canada jet was scheduled to land, and was granted permission by air traffic control.
Although shortly afterwards the 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.
Homendy told reporters Tuesday that two dispatchers were directing traffic from the LaGuardia Tower late Sunday night. A total of four people were on duty at the time, though only two were in the so-called cabin — the panoramic, glass-enclosed room at the top of the tower where air traffic controllers work, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
Homendy said it is “standard operating procedure” at the airport to have two controllers in the tower cabin for the “midnight shift” and that they often perform combined duties normally performed by other controllers. One of those controllers checked in at 10:45 p.m. New York time for an eight-hour shift. The second arrived at 10:30 p.m
Investigators will continue to look into the manning at the time of the crash as part of the investigation, Homendy said.
Having just two drivers in the cab is not unusual, especially since traffic is usually lighter at that time, according to people familiar with the matter. The collision happened at around 23:40 local time on Sunday.
LaGuardia was busier than expected late Sunday, with delays stemming from weather delays and long lines at security checkpoints snaking outside the terminal.
A total of 31 flights were scheduled to take off or land between 10:37 p.m. and 11:37 p.m., just before the crash, according to data compiled by Cirium, an aviation analytics company. However, the actual number during this period was 70.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that LaGuardia is a “well-staffed airport” in terms of air traffic controllers, with about 33 workers certified to handle flights at the facility against Target 37.
(Update with NTSB comments from first paragraph.)
More such stories are available at bloomberg.com
