What we know about the LaGuardia plane and fire truck crash
What we know about the LaGuardia plane and fire truck crash
Two pilots who perished in the collision between a passenger jet and a Port Authority fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night have been identified as Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther. Authorities have not yet formally announced their names, though Canadian news outlets and a university associated with one of the pilots confirmed their identities. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are leading the investigation into the incident.
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) outlined initial findings from the final three minutes of the cockpit voice recorder during a Tuesday afternoon press briefing. The data revealed that the fire truck was given permission to cross Runway 20 seconds prior to the crash. At 2 minutes and 22 seconds, the flight crew contacted the control tower, according to NTSB’s senior aviation investigator, Doug Brazy. Shortly before that, at 2 minutes and 17 seconds, the tower authorized the plane to land on Runway 4.
At 1 minute and 3 seconds, a vehicle made a radio call to the tower, but the transmission was interrupted by another. Brazy noted that this “stepped on” radio exchange suggests possible interference with the communication. The tower later advised the pilots that the aircraft was at a stable approach at 54 seconds. At 40 seconds, the tower asked which vehicle required runway crossing, and the fire truck responded. The clearance to proceed was granted 25 seconds later, with the tower confirming the request at 20 seconds.
Timeline from Cockpit Recorder
According to Brazy, the fire truck received the go-ahead to cross the runway at 20 seconds. The truck acknowledged the clearance at 17 seconds. Moments later, the tower directed a Frontier Airlines flight to hold position. At 9 seconds, the tower issued a stop command to the fire truck. Just before the crash, at 8 seconds, there was a sound matching the plane’s landing gear touching down. A pilot transfer of controls occurred at 6 seconds, with Homendy stating that the first officer was flying the plane before handing it over to the captain.
“We have conflicting information. Some sources say it was the controller in charge, while others point to the local controller,” said NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy.
Homendy explained that two individuals were operating the tower cabin at the time: a local controller and the controller in charge. The local controller handles active runways and nearby airspace, while the controller in charge oversees all safety operations. Additionally, they were responsible for the clearance delivery controller’s duties, which provide departure clearances to pilots.
Homendy mentioned that having two controllers during the midnight shift is standard practice across national airspace systems. However, she noted past concerns about fatigue among those working the shift. “I do not know, I have no indication that was a factor here, but it is a shift we’ve focused on in previous investigations,” she added.
The local controller began their shift at 10:45 p.m., while the controller in charge started at 10:30 p.m. Despite the accident, the pilots are credited with saving the lives of 72 passengers and two crew members by swiftly applying brakes and reducing the impact force. Over 40 individuals were treated for injuries, most of which were minor, though some remain hospitalized with severe wounds.
“From my seat in the 18th row, I could feel the pilots trying to slow the plane just before the collision,” said Jack Cabot, 22, a passenger on the Canada Air flight who was returning home from a spring break ski trip.