U.S. investigators say a key runway safety system at New York’s LaGuardia Airport did not issue a warning before a deadly collision involving an Air Canada jet and an airport fire truck, offering new details as the investigation into Sunday night’s crash continues.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that the airport’s surface detection system failed to generate an alert as the aircraft was landing and the emergency vehicle entered the runway. The crash killed both pilots and injured more than 40 passengers.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said the system was unable to produce a reliable track of the activity near the runway.
She said the analysis found the system did not alert “due to the close proximity of vehicles merging and unmerging near the runway,” which prevented it from creating a track with sufficient confidence.
Investigators also confirmed the fire truck involved was not equipped with a transponder, limiting how clearly it could be identified on surveillance systems used by air traffic control.
Preliminary information from the cockpit voice recorder shows the flight was on a normal, stable approach. The crew had completed landing checks and continued their descent after being cleared to land on Runway 4.
In the final moments, the fire truck requested permission to cross the runway and was cleared to do so. Air traffic control then instructed the vehicle to stop, but that call came only seconds before the aircraft touched down.
The recording indicates the aircraft landed about eight seconds before the end of the audio, with control transferred from the first officer to the captain shortly before impact.
The fire truck was responding to a separate issue involving another aircraft at the airport, where reports of fumes or a strange odour had prompted an emergency response.
The update also highlights ongoing questions about tower operations at the time of the crash. Two controllers were working in the tower cab, handling multiple roles under standard overnight procedures.
Homendy said it is too early to draw conclusions and cautioned against assigning blame, noting that major aviation accidents typically involve a combination of factors rather than a single failure.
Further findings are expected in the coming weeks.