Two Air Traffic Controllers Left Shift Early Before Air Canada Jet Collided With Fire Truck at LaGuardia, Source Says

According to a source cited in the coverage, two controllers assigned to the shift that night were not at their posts when the aircraft was moving on the airfield. The reporting did not specify how long the controllers had been absent or whether their absence was directly tied to the sequence of events that followed.

What Duffy Said

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the staffing lapse. 'But when a small percentage of individuals take advantage of the American taxpayer, unfairly add additional work to their fellow controllers, and impact the airspace – we have no choice but to act,' Duffy said in remarks reported by the outlets covering the story.

The collision occurred at LaGuardia Airport, one of the busiest airfields in the United States and a facility that has faced repeated scrutiny over runway incursions and ground operations in recent years. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are both referenced in connection with the probe.

Reporting on the incident has drawn on coverage from CNN News Central and the Wall Street Journal, with the Wall Street Journal first surfacing the detail that two controllers had left their shift early. The New York area's airspace and LaGuardia's ground operations have been a focus of federal regulators for several years.

The Broader Investigation

Officials named in the broader coverage included Department of Homeland Security leadership such as Kristi Noem, whose involvement relates to other immigration enforcement matters referenced in the same reporting cycle rather than to the LaGuardia incident itself. The Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic controller workforce has been a recurring topic in congressional and agency discussions.

The verified information does not specify the cause of the collision, the speed at which the aircraft and fire truck were traveling, or the extent of damage to either vehicle. It also does not detail the type of fire truck involved or whether it was responding to another emergency at the time.

Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board routinely examine ground collisions at commercial airports to determine whether controller staffing, vehicle operations, or pilot actions contributed to the incident. The presence of two controllers absent from their posts during the relevant window is likely to be a central line of inquiry.

What Remains Unknown

The Federal Aviation Administration has not, according to the available reporting, publicly identified the two controllers or disclosed whether they remain on active duty while the inquiry proceeds. Duffy indicated the agency will respond once its review is complete, framing the issue as one of accountability to the American taxpayer and to fellow controllers who carry the additional workload when colleagues cut shifts short.

For travelers, the incident underscores how staffing decisions made in tower cabs and ground-control rooms can have immediate consequences on the airfield. LaGuardia handled tens of thousands of flights in the months before the collision, and any sustained disruption to controller coverage can ripple across the broader New York region airspace.