Were two air traffic controllers enough?
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 on the midnight shift.
“If the number of operations … is conducive to a third body, then they need to look at it,” said Margaret Wallace, assistant professor of aviation management at the Florida Institute of Technology, where she teaches air traffic control.
“Just being up at night like that, when your circadian rhythm is off, can be detrimental. Never hurts to have another set of eyes there to help with those things.”
On Sunday around 11:37 p.m., an Air Canada regional flight carrying 76 people arrived from Montreal and struck an airport fire truck, which was crossing the runway to check on an unusual odour reported on another plane. Two pilots were killed in the crash.
Audio recordings from the airport control tower later captured an unnamed controller saying, “I messed up.”
Audio of an air traffic controller saying ‘I messed up’ after a deadly runway collision at LaGuardia airport quickly echoed across the aviation world. For The National, CBC’s Lyndsay Duncombe speaks to people with decades of experience in the tower to understand how the tragedy could impact the industry, already struggling with recruitment.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has for years had a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers, who routinely put in overtime and work six-day weeks.
Following the crash, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters that LaGuardia has a target of employing 37 air traffic controllers. Currently, there are 33 air traffic controllers at the airport, with seven in training.
LaGuardia is a “very well-staffed airport,” Duffy said.
In a news conference earlier this week, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy said that on Sunday night, LaGuardia’s tower cab was staffed with the local controller, who manages active runways and the immediate airspace surrounding the airport, and the controller in charge, who is responsible for the safety of all operations.
That night, the controller in charge was also doing the duties of the clearance delivery controller, who provides pilots with their departure clearance, she said.
Having two air traffic controllers for midnight shifts who combine or perform the duties of other controllers is standard operating procedure for LaGuardia and common practice across national airspace, Homendy said.
However, she also acknowledged this has been a concern for the air traffic control team for years, especially if there’s a heavy workload. Homendy questioned whether having only two air traffic controllers makes sense at LaGuardia given the busy airspace, and that this decision will be part of the investigation.
Air traffic control staffing levels are greatly reduced during the midnight shift, which, in general, is sufficient because the volume of traffic is much lower, said Michael McCormick, program co-ordinator of air traffic management at the Florida-based Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, in an email to CBC News.
Noise curfew at LaGuardia
LaGuardia airport also has a noise abatement curfew during the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. It doesn’t mean no flights are coming in, just that traffic is significantly reduced.
Investigators say the deadly collision between an Air Canada Express plane and a fire truck on the LaGuardia runway was likely caused by a series of errors as opposed to a single factor.
It was a busier Sunday night than usual at LaGuardia. Because of flight delays, the airport saw nearly 70 takeoffs and landings after 10 p.m. — more than double the 31 that were scheduled, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
No planes took off after 11:09 p.m., but planes continued to land every few minutes in misty, somewhat foggy conditions.
“That dramatically increased the pre-curfew workload for tower and ground controllers working the overnight shift,” said Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst.
With the heavier workload that evening, Mann questioned whether there was a “variable staffing model” in place to ask some of the staff to remain.
“The question should have been, ‘Hey, should I retain some of the existing staffing for 90 minutes?’
“I’m a former airline executive, but if it was me, knowing that I had a high tempo of activity in what was normally a slack period, I would go out personally to ask people to stick around.”
U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy says the NTSB will investigate whether the number of people on duty for that midnight shift at New York’s LaGuardia airport was a factor in Sunday’s crash between an Air Canada Express aircraft and an aircraft firefighting truck.
Possible confusion of duties
Richard Kennington, a former air traffic controller, said he believes the focus on midnight shift staffing is a distraction and had no bearing on this particular accident.
“We can’t even staff our facilities for the day shifts,” he said. “How are we going to put more staffing on the midnight shift?”
Kennington zeroed in comments made by Homendy, who said it was not clear which of the two air traffic controllers that night was conducting the duties of the ground controller, who is in charge of all aircraft and vehicle movements on the taxiways.
Kennington said that after listening to the audio recordings of the air traffic controllers, it seems there was some confusion about the division of responsibilities.
“Somewhere in that exchange, we had a breakdown in communication,” he said. “How was that exchange between the division of duties accomplished? I think that goes a long way to explaining our accident.”
Air Canada Flight 8646 collided with a fire truck at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, killing two pilots and injuring dozens of others. Andrew Chang breaks down what we know about the crash from air traffic control audio and insight from aviation experts.
Images provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
Kennington said he also didn’t believe fatigue played a role in this accident.
During her news conference, Homendy said fatigue is an ongoing concern for the NTSB as it relates to the midnight shift, because it spans a time frame when people are generally the most tired.
But she said there has been no indication fatigue was a factor in the accident.
Back in 2024, a report by a scientific panel of experts on sleep to the FAA recommended 10 to 12 hours of rest before all shifts as one way to reduce the risk that tired controllers might make mistakes. The panel also said additional time off might be needed before midnight shifts, which don’t allow workers to follow normal sleep patterns.
Following the report, the FAA said it would give controllers 10 hours off between shifts and 12 hours off before and after a midnight shift.
