On Sunday night, we saw an incredibly tragic accident at New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA), whereby an Air Canada Jazz CRJ-900 collided with a fire truck on the runway, killing both pilots, and seriously injuring many others.
While investigations take time, air traffic control audio made it clear that the air traffic controller cleared the fire truck to cross the runway while the Air Canada Jazz CRJ-900 was landing, and he even admitted on frequency, “I messed up.”
However, there’s typically more than one contributing factor to an accident, and now that video of the collision has been released, it’s becoming clear that another factor was at play.
In this post:
The fire truck ignored runway warning lights
Following the accident, surveillance footage has been posted of the point at which the Air Canada Jazz CRJ-900 and the fire truck collided. Of course this is hard to watch, so view it at your discretion.
Some people have been asking the question of how the fire truck didn’t see the plane landing on the runway. Even with permission, it’s a best practice to look both ways before crossing a runway. Admittedly we weren’t there, so it’s hard to know what exactly they would have seen, especially since this was at night.
There is one thing that we do know, though — the Runway Entrance Lights (REL) were illuminated shortly before the fire truck crossed the runway. For context, these lights are intended to prevent exactly this kind of a situation.
They’re unrelated to air traffic control instructions, and the idea is that there are solid, bright red lights that are illuminated when a runway shouldn’t be crossed. The red lights are turned off shortly before the plane crosses that part of the runway.
In the above video, you can see them on the part of the runway and taxiway where the fire truck attempts to cross, and they turn off around four seconds into the video, right before the CRJ-900 crosses that point.
If there’s a conflict between these runway lights and instructions from air traffic controllers, any traffic trying to cross the runway should of course follow up with air traffic control about the discrepancy.
Below you can see a video from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) explaining how these runway lights work. As you can tell, this is from many years ago, and the planes shown in that video are a blast from the past.
Unfortunately the “Swiss cheese model” failed
One of the reasons that aviation is incredibly safe is because of the “Swiss cheese model” for avoiding catastrophes. For those not familiar with that:
It likens human systems to multiple slices of Swiss cheese, which have randomly placed and sized holes in each slice, stacked side by side, in which the risk of a threat becoming a reality is mitigated by the different types of defenses which are “layered” behind each other. Therefore, in theory, lapses and weaknesses in one defense (e.g. a hole in one slice of cheese) do not allow a risk to materialize, since other defenses also exist (e.g. other slices of cheese), to prevent a single point of failure.
Obviously the first line of defense here was the air traffic controller giving correct instructions, and then the second line of defense was these runway warning lights, intended to ensure that even if an air traffic controller messes up, it wouldn’t have catastrophic impacts. We see so many close calls saved by these redundancies, but unfortunately this wasn’t one of those cases.
I imagine the air traffic controller feels horribly, as our air traffic control system has been under so much stress for such a long time, with controllers working way more than they should. It’s not easy to have a job where you need to be right 100% of the time, and where even a single error can have fatal consequences. Meanwhile I’m also sure the fire truck operators were trying their best to operate safely here.
But goodness, I of course feel worst for the two Air Canada Jazz pilots who lost their lives. There was absolutely nothing they could do to save this situation. May they rest in peace, and my hope is that they barely even knew what was happening, and that it all went very quickly, and they didn’t suffer too much.
My thoughts are with their family and friends. I hope they can find some comfort in knowing that both pilots were huge aviation geeks, and were doing what they loved down to the last minute. But goodness, I’m sure that doesn’t actually help with the suffering they must be going through, as both pilots were still early in their careers, and were young.
Bottom line
On Sunday night, we saw an Air Canada Jazz CRJ-900 and fire truck collide on a LaGuardia runway. While we know that an air traffic controller incorrectly gave the fire truck permission to cross the runway while another plane was landing, that wasn’t the only factor here.
This runway was equipped with Runway Entrance Lights (REL), intended to prevent exactly this kind of situation, to add an extra layer of protection in case an air traffic controller gives incorrect instructions. Unfortunately that didn’t seem to help, though.
The summary of the CVR transcript shows that the Local Controller cleared the fire trucks to cross the runway on the tower frequency, which is the same frequency that the pilots were monitoring. The pilots should have immediately queried the controller when they heard that transmission, and if the fire trucks weren't immediately stopped prior to entering the runway, the pilots should have initiated a go-around. At least three mistakes already obvious: 1. The controller...
The summary of the CVR transcript shows that the Local Controller cleared the fire trucks to cross the runway on the tower frequency, which is the same frequency that the pilots were monitoring. The pilots should have immediately queried the controller when they heard that transmission, and if the fire trucks weren't immediately stopped prior to entering the runway, the pilots should have initiated a go-around. At least three mistakes already obvious: 1. The controller cleared the fire trucks to cross an active runway with landing traffic on short final; 2. The fire truck ignored the Runway Entrance Lights; 3. The pilots didn't process the radio call clearing fire trucks to cross the runway they were landing on. Likely several more causal factors involved. RIP to the crew involved.
I have had questions about the role of the fire truck driver ever since the accident occurred. The runway entrance lights should have given the driver pause but it looks like he didn't slow down at all and I am assuming that he didn't look down the runway or couldn't see the plane barreling down on him. He may have relied entirely on the ATC clearance but why didn't he respond to the second command...
I have had questions about the role of the fire truck driver ever since the accident occurred. The runway entrance lights should have given the driver pause but it looks like he didn't slow down at all and I am assuming that he didn't look down the runway or couldn't see the plane barreling down on him. He may have relied entirely on the ATC clearance but why didn't he respond to the second command to stop. If the driver knew about the REL he may have thought he was given the clearance by ATC and the lights went out just before the plane arrived which may have given the driver the impression that everything was clear. I believe all drivers, including emergency vehicles, should be required to stop at the runway and obtain clearance before crossing the runway.
I feel such a sadness for everyone involved especially the very young excellent pilots and their families.
I would note that in the midst of all of this tragedy, the controller stayed on his job for the next 15 minutes, guiding aircraft in the air who were on approach, guiding them away to safety. That shows his amazing professionalism at such a difficult moment. He also cleared ARRF to assist Air Canada. He didn't...
I feel such a sadness for everyone involved especially the very young excellent pilots and their families.
I would note that in the midst of all of this tragedy, the controller stayed on his job for the next 15 minutes, guiding aircraft in the air who were on approach, guiding them away to safety. That shows his amazing professionalism at such a difficult moment. He also cleared ARRF to assist Air Canada. He didn't miss a beat. Incredible strength of character.
Please do not judge the fire crew. They were responding to a MAYDAY aircraft that was about to evacuate on a taxi way because the cabin air was unbreathable.
Let's all wait for the NTSB reports and say a prayer for everyone involved.
I think the first problem is two controllers working under a highly abnormal stress load. Traffic was around double the usual level. I suspect they were going flat out to keep things moving, more so than usual.
Second, in the light of the above, no protocol was triggered/enacted to provide additional controllers.
Third, it appears that the active REL at red, was ignored, pointing to absence of an automatic fail safe eg in...
I think the first problem is two controllers working under a highly abnormal stress load. Traffic was around double the usual level. I suspect they were going flat out to keep things moving, more so than usual.
Second, in the light of the above, no protocol was triggered/enacted to provide additional controllers.
Third, it appears that the active REL at red, was ignored, pointing to absence of an automatic fail safe eg in cab warning triggered at incursion attempt.
Fourth, one wonders about what safety training is given to personnel regarding runway activity, and how frequently it is refreshed.
With safety one should always bear in mind: " I you act in haste, you'll repent at leisure", "If it can happen, it will happen" ie be proactive in finding solutions.
Maybe they could try putting in an underpass so that emergency vehicles don't need to stop at an active runway to get to an incident on the other runway. I live in Trondheim and we have a 4 lane highway going under the runway, so it can't be that hard.
Listening to a retired air traffic controller from NY on TV, he described a convoluted system.
Ground control has one audio, Air traffic controllers have another audio.
Therefore it is a back n forth communications between the two.
That doesn't seem right, nor effective to keeping everyone in the right place.
This is one time where I wish someone would circle what I'm supposed to be watching. It looks like a casino game.
What an absolute tragedy. I hope everyone involved in tragedy and their families and friends can somehow find peace.
It would also be interesting to know the level of emergency these fire trucks were going to?
If it wasn’t urgent, was there an alternate perimeter road that would have allowed the vehicles to get to the other side, without crossing the runway, albeit taking a bit more time?
At news conference, NTSB chair Jennifer stated that it is normal to have only two ATCs working at the tower during that night/ graveyard shift. One handles traffic on the ground while the other focuses on traffic in the air. But she did not know who was doing what at the time of accident. The NTSB has recommended a new approach but it has not been implemented. She also mentioned that the fire truck did...
At news conference, NTSB chair Jennifer stated that it is normal to have only two ATCs working at the tower during that night/ graveyard shift. One handles traffic on the ground while the other focuses on traffic in the air. But she did not know who was doing what at the time of accident. The NTSB has recommended a new approach but it has not been implemented. She also mentioned that the fire truck did not have a transponder for the alert system. Based on the info we know so far, the ATC and fire truck driver were negligent. The driver failed to watch both ways before crossing the street, even after the ATC green lit. We, adults, teach kids how to cross the street and must know better how to travel safely on land. All levels of governments are now in red. Yet, the federal government prioritizes waging foreign wars and bombing/ shooting drones on foreign countries above all domestic programs. I take a different view on ATC staffing shortage. I know in medical professions, the associations impose strict limits on admission of medical students and training of medical interns, so that their members can earn maximum salaries the market can bear. It is fair to assume that such policy spreads to all other white collar professions. After the pilot and the first officer died in the accident, who will be liable and disciplined for the two fatalities, if any? If so, such individual shall never be allowed to work in the same profession and capacity any longer.
My understanding is visibility was limited at the time. I’m not sure the driver could even see the plane when they entered the runway. And, even if they could, it’s hard to understand what you’re seeing: is it a big plane far away or an RJ about to hit you or a benign maintenance vehicle? None of us were there and it’s best not to assume what those involved could have/should have done until the report comes out.
Sadly....
TWO errors made by HUMANS costs lives.
At this point these responses are just *old man shakes fist at cloud* vibes.
WTF
I wonder how much people trust those incursions lights. Maybe they come on 90 seconds before touchdown and during busy periods they’re basically always on. Or they turn on when they’re not needed. All it takes is a few false alarms for people to learn not to trust them. Esp if the tower gives permission.
Speaking as an airline pilot, I can tell you that we are trained to treat those lights as sacrosanct. If we receive an ATC clearance to enter or cross a runway and those stop bars are illuminated, we hold short of the runway and query the controller.
A lot. They only come on for about 10 seconds before the plane crosses that particular intersection.
Thank you. That was what I was curious about. Glad to know the system seems to work as designed. I ask bc there are so many examples of accidents happening bc warning systems were ignored bc those systems gave constant false alarms.
Had the pilots been listening to ATC and heard there was a fire truck on the runway, they could have avoided this. They are not “heroes”
I would not attack the deceased. Pilots are not on the same frequency as the emergency vehicles; that’s one of the issues. Maybe they should make operational changes. Some pilots (like Captain Steeeve) have advocated for changes like that. Might’ve made a difference here and with the DC midair from last January. Or not. Won’t know for sure.
Did you not watch the video? They had no time to react.
Fire trucks don't talk to Air Traffic Control. The pilots' job (while landing) was to listen to the Tower while landing their aircraft. They could also listen to any other aircraft at the airport who were communicating with the tower, but they would not have been (and should not have been) listening to any other frequency for ground vehicles.
Yes, Jim, they do. In fact we can hear them talking to the tower to get clearance to cross runway 4.
Joe — you made an incorrect assumption of how ATC communications work and were incredibly disrespectful to the two deceased pilots. Any two pilots put in that situation would have had the same fate.
The decent thing to do would be to acknowledge you were wrong and apologize. And maybe think next time before you insult the character of people you don’t know in situations you don’t understand.
Ji - The pilots were young and stupid and made a stupid decision to land the plane with a fire truck crossing an active runway.
I’m sorry they died, but it does not change the fact that they were clearly the cause of the crash.
Jim you are flat out wrong. There was a mistake made by the ATC, a mistake made by the ARFF truck crew, and the department of transportation is at fault for staffing levels. The only party not at fault in this incident are the Air Canada pilots. On an airfield planes ALWAYS have the right of way. It is ALWAYS the responsibility of the people on the ground to be aware of the planes because they are going too fast to make changes.
Well, there you have it. No need for an investigation, at this point, seeing as Jim has already got it all figured out. Brilliant work, really.
Jim,
First read my name.
Just curious do you suffer from some kind of dementia?
Now, read my name again.
So doubling down on your terrible take instead of admitting you were wrong. You sound like a cool dude.
JJ- go cry to your Kamala poster.
Bad conditions (rain, limited visibility). Overworked, understaffed ATC, late at night. Over-pressured companies (move the metal). United’s failure to maintain its aircraft, leading to the emergency vehicles dispatched. Yeah, there’s a lot here, and no one should’ve died. Awaiting NTSB’s report, hopefully FAA/DOT/Congress/everyone actually follows their recommendations; hope it never happens anywhere again.
Ben wrote something very prejudicial and not portraying the full situation. "he even admitted on frequency, “I messed up.' "
The Frontier Airlines pilot near the crash who saw it said that the controller did the best, in response.
When did the Air Canada plane see the truck and when did he do something? What did the truck do as far as maximum acceleration or braking? More info needed.
If I’d just witnessed a fatality in my watch I’d also question whether it was because of something I did or if there was something else I could have done to stop it. I didn’t read Ben as blaming the ATC, but empathizing with what an awful situation to have been in.
Expecting a pilot to see the SIDE of a fire truck from thousands of feet is asking a lot. The only thing you can see are the runway lights. Everything else is black.
It rather looks as though the truck did brake (and veer to its left).
Perhaps because of the "Stop, Stop" from ATC.
Ironically if the truck had continued at full speed, it might have got beyond the aircraft's path in time.
From first reports about this collision, I pictured the fire truck stopped at the runway entrance asking for permission to proceed. Now, it's obvious Truck 1, leading the procession of other vehicles, was en route to the runway when permission to cross was sought, and even if they had "looked both ways," they could not brake in time. Reminds me of the schoolbuses and other vehicles that were (maybe still are) required to stop at...
From first reports about this collision, I pictured the fire truck stopped at the runway entrance asking for permission to proceed. Now, it's obvious Truck 1, leading the procession of other vehicles, was en route to the runway when permission to cross was sought, and even if they had "looked both ways," they could not brake in time. Reminds me of the schoolbuses and other vehicles that were (maybe still are) required to stop at every railroad crossing even if there was no signal indicating an oncoming train. Not required at airports, at least when an odoriferous 737 needs to be rescued.
Thatt does help explain why ATC gave permission to the truck - it wasn't a "next step in the process from static position" - it was "we're speeding with blue lights on, can we carry on across the runway?"
Seems to be at an acute angle to the aircraft so less easy to see behind square.
Emergency vehicles on a call have a GPS system that overrides traffic signals automatically. I wonder if that system might also have been in play responding to the United emergency?
Also I am a bit skeptical about Duffy's claim regarding the number of controllers at LGA that evening. We need to better care for our ATC.
Ya no ARFF vehicle has a gps system that overrides runway stop lights lol. Cmon. I call BS on Duffy's comments too, if so WHY DID THAT CONTROLLER WORK ANOTHER 30 MINUTES after the incident.
Mike my concern is another ground system could disrupt how the system was intended to work. Of course that's a theory for the investigation to solve. I can't help but imagine that investigation has a lot of moving parts at this time.
No, the lights worked as intended, as you can tell by the video.
You can see the red lights on in the video. The system was telling the fire truck to stop. They ignored it. There's no override.
Is it true that only One controller was handling both the landing jet and the ground control fire engine ?
How can he look to his right , and also look to his left , at the same time ?
Yes the one controller was working both ground and tower frequency, absurd. He continued to work for 30 minutes after too since there was no one to replace him.
From the NY Times:
At 11:37 p.m. on Sunday, when the accident occurred, two controllers were working in the LaGuardia tower, according to [two persons] briefed on the matter, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
One controller was talking to a fire truck that was en route to assist a United Airlines jet, which had reported a foul odor that was sickening flight attendants,...
From the NY Times:
At 11:37 p.m. on Sunday, when the accident occurred, two controllers were working in the LaGuardia tower, according to [two persons] briefed on the matter, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
One controller was talking to a fire truck that was en route to assist a United Airlines jet, which had reported a foul odor that was sickening flight attendants, according to audio recordings of the air traffic controller communications. As the controller was clearing the fire truck to cross a major runway, an Air Canada jet was landing on the same runway. It crashed headlong into the fire truck, killing the jet’s two pilots and injuring a number of passengers.
At the time of the accident, both controllers were working two positions at the same time, these people said, reflecting the thin staffing that is typical at that time of night because of the relatively light traffic at the airport.
Those controllers were in a “mid,” or midnight, shift configuration, said one of the people briefed on the matter. At LaGuardia, that shift typically stretches from about 10:30 p.m. to 6 a.m., the National Transportation Safety Bureau chair, Jennifer Homendy, said at a news conference Monday evening. She added that it wasn’t clear how long those controllers had been on shift at the time of the accident.
An additional two controllers were elsewhere in the building, but were not in the “cab,” or control room of the tower, at the time of the accident, said the two people who were briefed on the matter.
Also:
For the midnight shift at LaGuardia, it is standard operating procedure to have only two controllers on duty performing the duties of multiple operators, said Jennifer Homendy, the NTSB chairwoman. This has been a concern for the agency’s air traffic control team for years, she said.
This, if true, breaks through all the chatter on this incident. LGA, in the rain, in the dark, had one single ATC, who was dealing with an emergency requiring dispatch of emergency services across the airfield, requested by a United pilot. USA has had serious problems with ATC staffing for years, under varying political leadership. Is there a plan that inspires confidence in the bipartisan flying public? Such a plan, if implemented by a Republican...
This, if true, breaks through all the chatter on this incident. LGA, in the rain, in the dark, had one single ATC, who was dealing with an emergency requiring dispatch of emergency services across the airfield, requested by a United pilot. USA has had serious problems with ATC staffing for years, under varying political leadership. Is there a plan that inspires confidence in the bipartisan flying public? Such a plan, if implemented by a Republican administration, must inspire confidence in all the flying public, so appointees must not be loyalists to one political party. Surely this isn't beyond the capabilities of the United States of America.
I assume there's sufficient government money available now, without delay or impediment, for employing the optimal number of ATCs. If there isn't, then a lively debate about priorities is in order.
Amateur here. Why would the lights go off BEFORE the aircraft has passed instead of as it passes over or once it has passed?
By that time, the plane would be directly in front of you. My guess is that congestion and forcing ARFF to wait for a signal to clear when they are presumably heading to an emergency.
Because of timing. The lights go off about 1 to 2 seconds before the airplane gets there so the ARFF truck can start to go knowing they can't get on the runway that fast but beginning the crossing before it gets too close to the next plane.
Watch the complete training video