The Federal Aviation Administration is moving to fire two air traffic controllers who left their LaGuardia Airport shifts early on March 22, 2026, just before a fatal runway collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck that killed both pilots.
According to people familiar with a federal investigation the Federal Aviation Administration found that the two controllers went home with about an hour left on their shifts on the night of the accident.
The ‘Early Shove’ Practice Under Federal Scrutiny
Current and former controllers note that heading out early is an established informal practice within the profession, often referred to as an early shove
. Yet the timing of this particular departure coincided with severe congestion at the airport. On the night of March 22, LaGuardia was handling twice its usual volume of air traffic.
The Trump administration has intensified oversight regarding these departures. More than 10 controllers have faced termination efforts this year over alleged timecard or leave abuses as federal officials crack down on the habit.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association acknowledged the ongoing developments. The organization stated that it is actively discussing these allegations with FAA leadership while declining further public comment.
“is committed to holding employees accountable, and we will not compromise the safety or efficiency of the National Airspace System.”
Federal Aviation Administration, via Reuters
Runway Conflict and Terminal Confusion
The collision occurred just before midnight on Runway 4 at Terminal B. A regional jet operating as an Air Canada Express flight from Montreal, managed by Jazz Aviation, struck a fire truck that had been dispatched to handle a separate incident involving another aircraft.
The impact killed the flight’s pilot and co-pilot and sent 41 people to hospitals, including two police officers aboard the rescue vehicle. Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, emphasized that ground vehicles must operate strictly under the direction of the control tower.
The fatal plane crash at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night was entirely avoidable and stemmed from severe miscommunication or a breakdown in coordination between local tower control and ground control functions, according to aviation safety experts.
Expert Assessments of Tower Operations
Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general of the Department of Transportation who served from 1990 to 1996, pointed to audio evidence indicating that a single individual may have managed both local air traffic control and ground control simultaneously. Such consolidated duties are possible during slower late-night hours, but the heavy volume on the night of the crash created critical vulnerabilities.
Harvey Sconick, a retired air traffic controller with more than 38 years of experience at the Federal Aviation Administration, offered a blunt assessment of the tower’s actions to reporters. He suggested that the controller handling the traffic just went brain-dead for a minute while clearing emergency vehicles across an active landing path.
Ongoing Federal Inquiries
The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing its formal investigation into the disaster. While federal safety investigators have examined the sequence of events in the tower, the board has not yet issued a final determination on whether controller staffing levels directly caused the collision. Officials have also noted that emergency vehicles lacked tracking equipment, which may have contributed to the catastrophic positioning error on the tarmac.
