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Bombshell Report Reveals Air Traffic Controllers’ Appalling Move Ahead Of AirCanada Crash That Claimed Pilots’ Lives
Two air traffic controllers are at the center of the latest developments related to the horrific Air Canada crash at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
Fresh details have emerged as investigators still piece together what happened inside the air traffic control tower on March 22, the night where Air Canada’s Flight 8646 slammed into a fire truck on the runway.
Highlights
- Fresh details have emerged as investigators still piece together what happened inside the air traffic control tower on March 22.
- Two pilots lost their lives in the March crash, involving an Air Canada aircraft and a firetruck on the runway.
- Two air traffic controllers reportedly left work early on the night of the horrific Air Canada crash.
Two pilots lost their lives and several others were injured during the incident.
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Two air traffic controllers are at the center of the latest developments related to the horrific Air Canada crash at LaGuardia Airport
On the ill-fated night, LaGuardia Airport was scrambling to deal with more than twice its typical traffic volumes due to rain and thunderstorms.
Authorities revealed that two air traffic controllers were in the tower when the plane crashed into the truck just before midnight.
The firetruck was on the runway, responding to an issue with a completely different plane at the time.
“Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop,” a panicking controller was heard saying moments before the collision.
“Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop,” a controller said in panic moments before the collision
Pilots Antoine Forest and Mackenzie Gunther lost their lives, while dozens of others were injured, including two firefighters inside the fire truck.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is moving towards firing two air traffic controllers, who were employed at LaGuardia Airport during the fatal crash.
The two controllers reportedly left work about an hour before their shifts officially came to an end.
Because of this, the remaining two controllers were left alone to deal with the heavy load that night, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal.
Controllers admitted to Reuters that the workload that night was busy.
They also said that normally, additional controllers would be brought in to share the load.
The two controllers reportedly left work about an hour before their shifts officially came to an end
@andresaintalbin FULL ATC AUDIO LEADING TO TRAGIC EVENTS AT LGUARDIA AIRPORT – A fire truck was trying to cross runway 04 at LGA – LaGuardia Airport this evening to get to a United Airlines flt 2384 that had 2 rejected takeoffs. The United 737 Max declared an emergency on the ground and requested fire trucks due to a strange odor that was making the flight attendants sick. The fire “TRUCK 1” was cleared to cross runway 04 to respond to the United flight when it collided with the Air Canada / Jazz CRJ. Listen to the audio gives you an idea of how task saturated LaGuardia Control Tower became trying to deal with this emergency. #BREAKING#LaGuardiaAirport#NewYork#AviationNews#fyp#LAGUARDIA#airport#firetruck#breakingnews#breaking#aircraft#airplanecrash#airplanecollision#laguardiaairport#LGA#ControlTower#ATC#atctower#UNITED737#RUNWAY4#unitedairlines2384#aircanada♬ original sound – andresaintalbin
Sometimes, controllers might stay beyond their shift’s normal end time to manage the heavier-than-scheduled number of arriving and departing flights.
Following the crash, questions about staffing shortages among air traffic controllers have been raised.
Officials are also using the opportunity to clamp down on timecard fraud, which includes an “early shove.”
An “early shove” refers to the long-standing practice of leaving early, current and former controllers told the outlet.
The practice sees managers allowing controllers to leave, especially when the only thing remaining on their schedule is a break.
While this is considered an informal perk after busy periods on the job, FAA officials are viewing this as timecard fraud.
The agency also said controllers might still be needed to work during emergency situations, even if they are on breaks.
An “early shove” refers to the long-standing practice of leaving early
Air Canada crash footage reveals the moment the airline on Sunday plowed into a fire truck at LaGuardia killing the two pilots of the plane, hospitalizing 39 of the 73 passengers and 2 emergency personnel.
Say a prayer for all victims and their families.pic.twitter.com/VOdQchmKbbhttps://t.co/IdI4sReqwx
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 23, 2026
In recent months, the Trump administration has been more aggressive with their approach, thus leading to a nationwide push by the FAA to crack down on employees going on breaks at the end of their shift and not returning.
More than 10 controllers have been fired by the FAA this year for alleged timecard fraud or misusing their leave policies.
They are also firing the two LaGuardia Airport controllers over the Air Canada crash in March.
The FAA said it is “committed to holding employees accountable” and won’t compromise on the “safety or efficiency of the National Airspace System.”
Reports revealed that 2,000 controllers were hired this year, which is about 94 percent of its hiring target for the year 2026, aimed at reducing staffing shortage.
“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,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement to the paper.
“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.”
Authorities are taking the necessary action to “hold folks accountable and prevent unlawful practices”
Duffy said authorities are taking the necessary action to “hold folks accountable and prevent unlawful practices from disrupting the traveling public.”
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association also said it was looking into these fraud allegations.
They also said one must not ignore the “extraordinary dedication of the thousands of air-traffic controllers who report to work every day.”
These controllers show up under “extremely challenging staffing conditions” and are focused on keeping fliers safe, they added.
“Billionaires putting the blame on anyone but themselves!” one commented online
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What do you think ?
Mindy Rao 1 day ago
Don’t let them distract you. This is TRUMP’S fault and no one else’s! He is cutting funding to the FAA on every level and they can only work with what they have. He KNEW it would cost lives but he DID. NOT. CARE.
Lia Gray 19 hours ago
My last salary was $8750, ecom only worked 12 hours a week. My longtime neighbor yr estimated $15,000 and works about 20 hours for seven days. I can't believe how blunt he was when I looked up his information, This is what I do..... 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐏𝐚𝐲𝟏.𝐂𝐨𝐦
Load More Replies... FreeTheUnicorn 1 day ago
It's almost as if only hiring enough people for a skeleton crew ensures disaster.
Ace 1 day ago (edited)
Read it again. They hired enough to have four on duty at this time. The fact that only two were actually at their posts is another issue entirely, clearly a failure of management and staff alike.
Load More Replies...
CP 1 day ago (edited)
People ae not robots. If we don't have enough people then don't fly as much. This is just another case of a terrible system blaming individuals for problems they didn't cause. W*F does "patriots" have to do with anything? Just asking people to sacrifice for a country that sees them as disposable.
Mindy Rao 1 day ago
Don’t let them distract you. This is TRUMP’S fault and no one else’s! He is cutting funding to the FAA on every level and they can only work with what they have. He KNEW it would cost lives but he DID. NOT. CARE.
Lia Gray 19 hours ago
My last salary was $8750, ecom only worked 12 hours a week. My longtime neighbor yr estimated $15,000 and works about 20 hours for seven days. I can't believe how blunt he was when I looked up his information, This is what I do..... 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐏𝐚𝐲𝟏.𝐂𝐨𝐦
Load More Replies... FreeTheUnicorn 1 day ago
It's almost as if only hiring enough people for a skeleton crew ensures disaster.
Ace 1 day ago (edited)
Read it again. They hired enough to have four on duty at this time. The fact that only two were actually at their posts is another issue entirely, clearly a failure of management and staff alike.
Load More Replies... CP 1 day ago (edited)
People ae not robots. If we don't have enough people then don't fly as much. This is just another case of a terrible system blaming individuals for problems they didn't cause. W*F does "patriots" have to do with anything? Just asking people to sacrifice for a country that sees them as disposable.
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