Mastodawn

the U.S. air traffic control system has been chronically understaffed for some years now. this may be one of the contributing factors in Air Canada flight 8646's crash into a fire truck at LaGuardia which killed both pilots. the NTSB investigation will decide if it was.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/laguardia-airport-air-traffic-control-midnight-shift-9.7142856

#Aviation #AC8646

ANALYSIS | Were 2 enough? Experts question number of air traffic controllers during LaGuardia midnight shift | CBC News

Following the deadly collision between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck on the runway at New York City's LaGuardia airport last week, concerns have been raised about whether there was adequate air traffic control staffing that night.

CBC

Francisca Sinn Mar 23

“the controller working that tower last night was, by every account I’ve heard, a respected professional…

The system that put him in that position— alone, managing complexity that was multiplying faster than any single human brain can track— that system failed him too. And it failed the two pilots who didn’t come home this morning.

We owe it to all of them to say so clearly, and then to actually do something about it.“

#AC8646 #JAZZ646 #LaGuardia #AirTrafficController
https://open.substack.com/pub/adamkinzinger/p/the-laguardia-crash-will-be-blamed?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

The LaGuardia Crash Will Be Blamed on One Controller. That's Not the Whole Story.

3,000 controllers short. WWII-era radar still in use. And a lone controller managing two emergencies at midnight. This was preventable.

Adam Kinzinger

Show thread

Francisca Sinn Mar 23

@CStamp The Guardian reports further detail:

“In the moments before the crash, an air traffic controller could be heard on a radio transmission giving clearance to a vehicle to cross part of the runway, then trying to stop it.

“Stop, Truck 1. Stop,” the transmission says. The controller can then be heard quickly diverting incoming aircraft from landing.“

Horrific and heartbreaking all around.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/23/air-canada-plane-collides-with-ground-vehicle-at-new-yorks-laguardia-airport-halting-all-flights

#Canada #AC8646 #AirCanada #LaGuardia

Two pilots killed after Air Canada jet collision at LaGuardia in New York

NTSB says investigation under way as nine people remain hospitalized after plane hit fire tuck on runway

The Guardian

🇨🇦 CleoQc 🍁🦜🧶🚐🌈Mar 23

f*ck... AC8646 flight from Montreal, my brother likely knew these pilots. My dad has been retired long enough that he no longer knows any active pilot, but my brother has only been retired for a few years.
#AC8646