Two LaGuardia controllers left shift early on night of fatal Air Canada collision

Two air traffic controllers responsible for New York-LaGuardia airport left their positions roughly an hour before their shifts ended on the night of a fatal runway collision, according to a report attributed to the Wall Street Journal. The Federal Aviation Administration is reportedly moving to dismiss both controllers over the departure, which left two remaining controllers to manage a busy night without backup.

The newspaper did not name the controllers, who are said to be on leave. The FAA, in a statement, said it is committed to holding employees accountable and would not compromise the safety of the national airspace system, adding that it hired more than 2,000 controllers in 2026, which it described as a record annual total and about 20 percent more than in 2024.

The collision occurred on March 22, when Air Canada Express Flight 8646, arriving from Montreal, struck an airport firefighting vehicle while landing. The impact destroyed the cockpit of the Bombardier CRJ900 and killed both pilots. Thirty-nine other people were injured, including passengers on the jet and occupants of the fire truck.

The truck had been dispatched toward a United aircraft that aborted its takeoff after reporting an unusual smell on board, and it was cleared to cross the runway on which the Air Canada flight was landing. Air traffic control recordings reportedly show a controller trying to stop the truck before the collision, but the warning came too late.

The circumstances surrounding staffing levels that night remain part of the broader examination into the crash.