In March 2026, we saw an Air Canada Jazz CRJ-900 collide with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA), claiming the lives of two pilots, and injuring dozens of others.
Aviation is incredibly safe, and this is one of those cases where the “Swiss cheese model” for avoiding aviation catastrophes failed. The air traffic controller on duty was dealing with another emergency, and then accidentally cleared the fire truck onto the runway while the Air Canada jet was landing. That being said, the runway warning lights were flashing, and should’ve prevented the truck from entering the runway.
We’re now learning about another potential contributing cause, which might explain why the air traffic controller was so overworked…
Two ATC left work an hour early, right before the crash
The Wall Street Journal is now reporting another unfortunate twist in this Air Canada crash story. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has determined that two air traffic controllers at LaGuardia left work around an hour early the night of the plane crash, and the agency is now moving to fire those two controllers.
Because they left early, there were only two air traffic controllers working that night in the tower, who didn’t have backup to assist with high workloads. The airport was reportedly seeing twice the usual volume of traffic the night of the accident.
What’s interesting is that the story talks about how leaving early is called an “early shove,” but according to current and former controllers, it’s a longstanding practice in the industry, yet FAA officials consider it to be a form of timecard fraud.
Here’s what Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had to say about the decision to take action against the two air traffic controllers:
“The vast majority of air traffic controllers are great patriots — they show up for work, complete their full shift, and come back and do it all again. 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. We will not tolerate fraud, and we are taking appropriate action to hold folks accountable and prevent unlawful practices from disrupting the traveling public.”
Air traffic controllers consistently leave early, but it’s fraud?!
It’s a bit confusing to hear how air traffic controllers pretty consistently leave earlier than the end of their shift, it’s seemingly tolerated by managers, and it’s also a form of fraud. So what exactly is going on here?
Well, current and former air traffic controllers say that managers have condoned them leaving their shifts before they officially end, and it has been seen as an informal perk after busy stretches of working, especially given how much overtime everyone is working nowadays, due to staffing shortages.
The Trump administration is reportedly trying to signal an aggressive response to this, in the form of firing controllers. The FAA has this year reportedly taken steps to fire more than 10 controllers for alleged timecard fraud or abuse of leave policies.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association claims it’s discussing timecard and leave fraud allegations with FAA leadership:
“What should not be ignored is the extraordinary dedication of the thousands of air-traffic controllers who report to work every day, often under extremely challenging staffing conditions, and remain focused on keeping the flying public safe.”
This whole situation is a bit of a head scratcher. So air traffic control is consistently understaffed and they’re working overtime, yet they also have a practice where they consistently leave early and commit timecard fraud? And it’s done on a widespread basis, and now the FAA is starting to crack down by firing a small number of people who have done it?
I don’t blame them for trying to figure this out, because the system in place where this consistently happens seems like a problem. But still…
Bottom line
In March 2026, an Air Canada plane and a fire truck collided on a LaGuardia Airport runway. Air traffic control was short staffed at the time, as the controller managing the runways was dealing with another emergency.
The FAA has now determined that two air traffic controllers left early that night, by around an hour, which is a form of timecard fraud. What’s interesting is that this is apparently a totally standard practice among air traffic controllers, even if it’s not allowed. The FAA is now trying to fire these controllers, and prove a point about how this practice has to stop.
What do you make of this ATC detail regarding the LaGuardia crash?
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