FAA seeks to fire two LaGuardia controllers over early shift departures

The Federal Aviation Administration is taking steps to fire two air traffic controllers at LaGuardia Airport after determining they left their shifts roughly an hour early on the night of a March 22 collision involving an Air Canada Express regional jet and an airport fire truck, according to reports citing the Wall Street Journal and CBS News.

According to an unnamed source cited by CBS News, the FAA regards the controllers' conduct as timecard fraud. The practice of quietly leaving before a shift officially ends is sometimes called an "early shove" within the profession.

The early departures meant that two other controllers were left working the tower without backup during a period of heavy traffic, according to the reporting. The FAA's disciplinary move does not establish that this staffing gap contributed to the collision itself.

The National Transportation Safety Board's investigation into the crash is continuing. Investigators are looking at air traffic control operations and human performance among the factors that may have led to the accident, but no probable cause has been issued.

A preliminary NTSB report noted that two controllers were on duty in the tower at the time of the collision, consistent with LaGuardia's standard midnight-shift staffing plan. Both were said to be qualified and current on all tower positions, with one handling local control and the other managing ground control while also serving as controller-in-charge.

The NTSB has not yet determined whether staffing levels, workload, or the earlier departure of the two controllers played any role in the accident.