Overview
- An Air Canada Express jet collided with a Port Authority fire truck at LaGuardia on March 22, 2026, killing the captain and first officer and injuring dozens as the aircraft landed.
- The FAA has determined that two unnamed LaGuardia tower controllers clocked out about an hour early the night of the crash and has begun termination proceedings charging the departures as timecard fraud.
- The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the accident and has not yet issued a probable cause; its preliminary work cited communication lapses and the fire truck’s lack of a transponder as contributing factors under review.
- Controllers describe the practice of leaving early as an informal ‘early shove’ but the FAA treats unworked hours as fraud and the union NATCA says it is discussing the allegations with agency leaders.
- The FAA says it is accelerating hiring and moving to equip airport vehicles with transponders to improve runway awareness, steps that could reduce staffing strains and prevent future runway incursions.