NEW YORK (AP) — A runway warning system failed to sound an alarm moments before an Air Canada jet and a fire truck collided while the plane was landing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, federal investigators said Tuesday.
National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said during a news conference that the system didn’t work as intended because the fire truck did not have a transponder.
While the NTSB hasn’t recommended that vehicles
on airport grounds have transponders, they should, Homendy said.
“Air traffic controllers should know what’s before them, whether it’s on airport surface or in the airspace. They should have that information to ensure safety," she said.
The plane carrying more than 70 people slammed into the fire truck while landing late Sunday night, killing the two pilots and injuring several passengers. Most, though, were able to escape the mangled aircraft, and a flight attendant still strapped in her seat survived after being thrown onto the tarmac.
Investigators don't know yet whether the two people in the fire truck heard the control tower's frantic, last-second warnings to stop before pulling into the plane's path, Homendy said.
Homendy said NTSB investigators have not yet interviewed the firefighters or determined whether they braked or turned to avoid a collision. She said investigators also have not reviewed data from the flight data recorder.
Investigators also want to know more about the role of the air traffic controllers and what they were doing while juggling a late night emergency involving another plane.
Homendy warned against jumping to conclusions.
“I would caution against pointing fingers at controllers and saying distraction was involved. This is a heavy workload environment," she said.
There were two controllers on duty in the control tower at the time of the crash, which is typical for a late night shift, she said. Both controllers were early into the their shift when the crash happened.
One controller cleared the truck to cross the runway just 20 seconds before the collision, when the plane was a little more than 100 feet (30 meters) in the air, the NTSB found.
The crash came at a time of increasing frustration with air travel in the U.S., caused by long security lines because of the government shutdown, winter storms and rising costs.
While flights resumed Monday at LaGuardia — the New York region’s third busiest airport — the runway where the collision happened was still closed.
About one quarter of the airport’s flights were canceled Tuesday, according to FlightAware.com, and there were significant delays averaging more than four hours. But it did not appear the cancellations were spilling over to other airports around the U.S.
The wreckage from the crash remained on the closed runway, which is likely to stay shut down for days during the investigation, Homendy said.
Investigators need to sift through a lot of debris, she said. Authorities recovered the plane’s cockpit and flight data recorders by cutting a hole in the aircraft’s roof.
There were 72 passengers and four crew members aboard the Jazz Aviation flight that originated in Montreal and was operating on behalf of Air Canada, according to the airline.
About 40 people, including the two from the fire truck, were taken to hospitals. Some suffered serious injuries, but by Monday morning, most had been released, and others walked away without needing treatment.
The pilot and copilot who died in the first fatal crash at LaGuardia in 34 years were both based out of Canada, said Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio, and Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed.
